Harry Potter and the Jedi Wizard - Part 3: The Prisoner of Azkaban
by The Black Widow1
Summary: Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban, Harry needs protection! It's time for our Padawan Learners, to get their first unsupervised mission. Will they succeed? Harry used the Force last year, will he become a Jedi, or will his feelings for Black turn him to the Dark Side? You'll have to read to find out.
1. Jedi Staying Over

**After this story, I'll be going quiet on the uploads, I'm still on chapter 2 of the next story and I plan to hold off on uploading until a story is finished, that way I won't ever go back to uploading half a story and then getting distracted by the drama that is life.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing, except one moped and two laptops.**

Chapter 1 – Jedi Staying Over

It was the day after Harry's thirteenth birthday and Andrew was in the passenger seat of one of the Order's shuttle cars, his Master in the driver's seat and two wrapped gifts in his lap. They were driving along Privet Drive, heading for number four.

 **Flashback**

Andrew and Mel had just walked through the main door of the Temple, before leaving, their Masters were called into a sudden council meeting. They had gone back out to replace Harry's gift, after making Harry a belt and clip for his lightsaber, Andrew then noted that the belt was just big enough to fit him now. Give the guy a couple of months and he'd out-grow it.

Between the two of them they felt that they had bought Harry something he could really use. Especially since Andrew had gained the Council's permission to tutor Harry in the basic use of the Force.

"Oh there you are Andrew," Jessica McKnight said when she saw them, the Grand Master's wife handed him an envelope saying Hedwig had just arrived with it.

 _Andrew,_

 _You've_ got _to rescue me! I just gotten my letter from Hogwarts, but then my uncle said that his sister was coming to stay for a while. I CAN'T STAND HER!_

 _I begged my uncle to let me have someone come over to help me cope with her and he finally agreed I could have someone from the Temple stay for a week, mainly because it'll help with his cover story … apparently he's been telling people I attend "St Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys", apparently the Jedi run the place and do the teaching._

 _Please get permission, I can't last long by myself!_

 _Harry._

Andrew then showed the letter to Mrs McKnight who said she'd have a word with his Master and her husband, in the meantime he should go and pack. Mel took the gifts and wrapped them while Andrew ran off to his room, deciding only to pack clothes and come back for his school things when Harry came to London for shopping.

End Flashback

"Now remember, Andrew," Jarod said from the driver's seat. "You're a teaching assistant at the school."

"Yes Master, I remember. And I'm to call you as soon as this Marge has left, so you can come and pick us up and Harry can stay with us for the rest of the holidays." Andrew answered.

"Correct, well, here we are." Jarod announced as he pulled up to the curb.

They got Andrew's bag from the back seat and walked up the garden path to knock on the door.

Vernon Dursley answered and scowlled.

"What are _you_ doing here?" he hissed.

"You told Harry someone from the Temple could come and stay?" Jarod enquired.

"Yes, but it was supposed to be someone from the Centre, not one of his _freakish_ friends!" Dursley answered, fighting to keep his voice down.

"Well you've got me, and we _both_ have to keep our stories straight don't we," Andrew snapped, crossing his arms.

Dursley wanted to slam the door in the Jedi's faces, but his Sister just so happened to call at that moment and ask who was at the door.

"A tutor from Harry's School!" Andrew called back, smirking in a very satisfied way as Dursley let them in.

"Good morning ladies," Jarod greeted cheerfully as he shook hands with Petunia and Marge, "I am Jedi Master, Jarod Cooper, I teach at the Centre young Harry attends, and this is my Padawan and teaching assistant, Andrew Payne."

"It's a pleasure," Andrew added, also shaking hands.

"Why are you here?" Marge asked. "Keeping an eye on the trouble maker?"

"Actually no, Andrew wanted to get a little extra teaching experience and Harry's doing so well in his lessons that he warrants extra credit." Jarod answered without missing a beat.

Jarod then tried to say his farewells but Marge insisted on him staying for a cup of tea, Andrew then took the opportunity to head up to Harry's room.

Harry begrudgingly answered his door when Andrew knocked but smiled immediately when he saw who was there.

"Thanks for coming, you're a life saver, she's only been here a day and she's getting to me, thankfully she's not gotten onto the topic of where I go to school," Harry said quickly as he shut the door behind Andrew.

"Well you can take it from me, they're talking about it now, but don't worry, you're a model student," Andrew said with a laugh as he handed Harry his gifts from himself and Mel, "sorry they're late, but we thought since I was coming anyway..."

Harry tore open the paper and instantly put the items on, thanking Andrew.

"Once she's gone, Master Cooper's coming to pick us up and you're staying with us until school starts," Andrew explained. "Plus, do you remember using the Force on Valentines day?" Harry nodded. "Good, because I've been given permission to give you basic training."

"Cool! OUCH!" Harry exclaimed, Andrew had just stabbed his thumb, as he looked down, he saw some kind of device in Andrew's hand, a clear partition had Harry's blood in it.

"You need a midi-chlorian count," Andrew said with an apologetic look. The device in his hand started bleeping as it scanned Harry's blood and transmitted. "This thing only scans the blood and then sends the data to the Temple for analysis.

Harry nodded and looked around, wondering where Andrew was supposed to sleep, he noted that there was only his bed or the floor as he started to worry that Andrew might need to take his old room under the stairs.

Just then Petunia came in without knocking, holding a pile of bedding in her arms. "Oh, perfect timing," Andrew said, pulling his web-shooters from his backpack and slipping them on. He fired a line to the walls on either side of himself, tying the lines together, he did this two more times before running up the wall and firing at the three strings going across Harry's room. He bounced a little as he landed on the webs.

"There, one hammock, just a shame I'll have to do that again tomorrow," he announced as he took Petunia's load from her and laid out his 'bed'.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"It's like a real spider's web, it disintegrates within 24 hours, but it's great for travelling light." Andrew answered.

"So long as it won't leave a mess," Petunia commented before she left.

"Andrew?" Jarod called from downstairs. The young Jedi struggled a little with getting out of the hammock before the two boys left Harry's room and walked down the staircase.

"I'm heading back to the temple, be mindful as always and you can't go far wrong." Jarod said, Andrew nodded and bowed to his Master.

"Of course, Master, may the Force be with you," Andrew said as a farewell.

After Jarod left, Andrew let out a yawn and stretched. "I tell you, driving all the way from London _hurts_!"

"Why didn't you fly?" Harry asked.

"Master Cooper _hates_ flying," Andrew explained, "and he decided since he was taking the car back then he'd drive us here. Mrs Dursley, would you mind if I used the back garden for a while?"

"What for?" her husband demanded suspiciously.

"I need a sparring match to loosen up a little." Andrew answered honestly.

"Ha, and where are you going to find a partner around here?" Vernon laughed Harshly.

"I'll show you," Andrew answered with a grin as he turned and rushed upstairs to fetch something from his duffel bag.

"Master Cooper insisted that I bring one of these along so I don't get rusty during my week away from the temple," he explained, showing them a sphere in his palm.

"Is that one of those things from Star Wars?" Dudley asked, causing everyone to look at him. "That flies around trying to shoot you?"

Andrew chuckled when he realised what he was talking about. "Oh no, certainly not … that's for toddlers. No _this,_ well, it's easier to show you." And with that, he led them out to the back garden, asking the five of them to stand back, he walked to the centre of the lawn, pressed a hidden button on the sphere and jumped back, taking his lightsaber hilt from his belt and preparing himself for battle.

The others watched in fascination as the sphere started moving about, unfolding itself like a mechanical rubik's cube, until after a few moments, a droid was standing on the lawn. It had spindly arms, spindly legs and a perfectly round head.

"This is one of our travelling training droids. they're used for occasions like this one, for Jedi who will be spending more than a couple of days away from home. It's purpose is to provide a sparring partner while also being small and easily packed in luggage." Andrew explained.

"How does it wor-OW..." Harry started, but Marge whacked his shins with her cane.

"How does it work?" She asked.

Andrew scowled at her briefly before answering. "I simply tell it which style I wish to practise and it will attack me accordingly, for instance, Form one, is designed to reflect incoming fire, so if I say 'Shii-Cho'.."

He was interrupted by the training droid suddenly drawing a gun, from out of its hand, and opening fire, causing Andrew to ignite his lightsaber and start blocking with fairly basic moves.

"Now this," he shouted over the hum of his and the droids weapons, "will keep going until the droid hears me say 'cease'!"

Suddenly the droid stopped firing and put its weapon away. "Are you insane boy?" Vernon exploded. "That could have killed you!"

"Hardly, 'present ballistic'" on that command the droid offered its weapon, Andrew took it and removed the clip, showing that it was shooting rubber bullets.

"As you can see, if I'd not been as skilled as I am I still wouldn't have been harmed," Andrew finished.

"I take it the Sith are a little more harsh." Harry said, earning another whack from Marge.

"Will you kindly stop attacking my student!" Andrew shouted at Marge.

"He wasn't spoken to," she snapped.

"I don't give a flying monkey's foot! He asked a valid question, and if there is to be any punishments dished out to him while I'm here," Andrew lectured, drawing his lightsaber again, "I'll be the one to do it, am I _clear_ madam?"

Marge glared at the boy shouting at her, before growling, "Perfectly, _young_ Jedi."

"Thank you. You're right of course Harry, the Sith also use similar droids, but they're programmed to kill. Even an Apprentice, using a training droid, is fighting for his or her life."

After that, Andrew had a brief but furious bout with the droid, it was using Juyo and he was using Soresu, all the while explaining the differences in style to a thoroughly interested Harry and Dudley.

Then for the rest of the day, Andrew pretended to teach Harry extra-curricular mathematics and try hard _not_ to tell Marge off every time she boomed out a suggestion for Harry's improvement.

That is until Andrew lost his temper and shouted back, "Has anyone suggested that for _your_ improvement?"

At that point, Andrew took a deep, calming, breath and told Harry that lessons were over for today and that they should turn in.

Once they were shut in, Andrew leaned his hands on Harry's desk "How in the name of _all_ that is Holy, can you put up with her Harry?" Andrew asked, seething.

Just then Petunia came in with a tray loaded with the boys dinners.

"It's a deal me and Uncle Vernon have, I keep my nose clean and not back-talk Aunt Marge and he'll sign my form so I can go to Hogsmeade," Harry answered, accepting his dinner from his aunt, who looked torn between sympathy for Harry and annoyance at Andrew shouting at her Sister-in-law.

"Thank you Mrs Dursley," Andrew said as she placed his dinner on the desk next to his hand. Andrew then stood up and looked Harry dead in the eye. "Well he bloody-well _better_ sign your form the second she's out the door."

"Or else what, exactly?" Petunia asked.

"Let's just say I won't be able to show my face in the Temple if he doesn't and leave it at that," Andrew answered before tucking into his meal.

The rest of the week went rather smoothly, Vernon would quietly wake the boys up early, Petunia would get them to eat something quickly and send them out 'on an errand', which they conveniently took all day to do. While they were out wasting time, Andrew would have Harry practising something, like levitation, for the entire day and then they would be home, their errand completed and dinner on the table.

This allowed them to get through most of the day, at least, without having to listen to a word Marge would say about Harry. But the drawback was that she seemed to keep a stockpile of insults ready for dinner.

It wasn't so much what she was saying that annoyed either of the boys. What annoyed Andrew, at least, was that she was talking _about_ Harry, as though he wasn't even there. However, Andrew had to applaud his friend, for he had taken to focusing on lines from a book Hermione had given him for his birthday, whenever Marge was starting to get to him, which allowed him to tune her out.

The book in question was on the subject of broom care, and whenever Harry thought about the words in the book, Andrew would hear them in his own head, as though Harry were deliberately talking to him telepathically so that they could both tune her out.

Sadly though, this method was not to last. On her last night in the Dursley residence, Marge decided to stop poking insults at Harry, and start on his parents instead.

"You see, it's all to do with breeding, I see it all the time. If there's something wrong with the bitch then there's something wrong with the pup." Marge said.

"That explains so much about you then," Andrew muttered, causing Petunia to send a glare at him.

"Now I'm not saying anything against your family Petunia," Marge said, patting Petunia's hand, having mistaken the glare at Andrew for a glare at Marge's remarks. "But your Sister was a _bad_ egg."

At this, Andrew clenched his fists. "And on what evidence do you make _that ass_ umption?" he spat, emphasising 'ass'.

"The fact that he's in your school," Marge answered with a slur while pointing at Harry, clearly getting drunk on the mixture of wine and brandy that the Dursleys had supplied her.

"This _Potter_ ," she continued loudly, seizing the brandy bottle and spilling most of it as she refilled her glass, "you never told me what he did?"

Vernon, Petunia and Dudley shared a tense look, glancing at the Jedi who was so obviously teetering on the edge of losing control.

"He … didn't work," answered Vernon, glancing worriedly at Harry, "unemployed."

"Nice out," Andrew half-growled.

"As I expected!" Marge shouted before downing her glass of brandy, dribbling some of it on her chin which she wiped on her sleeve. "A no-account, good-for-nothing, lazy scrounger who-"

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" shouted Andrew, smashing his fists so hard on the table that it wobbled.

The rest of the table stared at the Padawan in shock as he jumped to his feet, sending his chair flying backwards. "HOW _DARE_ YOU SPEAK LIKE THAT ABOUT THE DEAD, HAVE YOU NO RESPECT FOR ANYONE BUT YOURSELF?"

"Now look here-" Marge started, but he cut her off a second time.

"Harry! Get your things! We're out of here!" Harry nodded and left to go to his room.

"You have _no_ evidence to support one word of what you've said about Harry's parents, _everything_ you've said against the boy has been plucked out the air without a single moment of brain power going into it." Andrew was panting with rage now and his hand was twitching towards his lightsaber.

"You know _nothing_ about him and yet you see fit to chastise him for _no_ reason, well enough," he was miraculously calming down. "Mr Dursley, a word in the hallway if you _don't_ mind!"

Without another word, Andrew turned on his heel and stalked out of the kitchen, igniting his lightsaber and slicing the lock off the cupboard under the stairs.

Vernon looked furious when he came out and saw the damage, but before he could say anything, Andrew ripped the door open and said "Bill me!" bitingly.

As Harry got his school things from the cupboard, Andrew rounded on his Uncle.

"You and Harry had a deal, he has held up his end of the bargain," Andrew held the tip of his blade towards Vernon's throat, "it's now time for you to do the same." Harry's permission slip flew into Andrew's hand.

"Sign it! And I'll allow you to keep all your limbs intact." Andrew ordered.

Petunia had come out of the kitchen, where Marge was shouting about the indignity of Andrew's onslaught.

"Quiet, bitch! You've said enough for one night!" Andrew bellowed, Petunia saw the situation was quickly turning for the worse again and snatched the permission slip from Andrew's hand. She quickly read through it, then wrote her name, ticked 'legal guardian' and signed it.

"Thank you, Mrs Dursley," Andrew said through gritted teeth as his own belongings slid noisily down the stairs, he deactivated his lightsaber, grabbed his bags and the two boys then left with the slamming of the front door.

"Chances are I'm not going to be welcome there again, sorry Harry."

"It's her fault, I'd dread to think what could've happened if you'd not been there." Harry answered.

The two of them kept walking, unsure of where to go, but certain that they wanted to get as far from Privet Drive as they could.

"You grabbed your lightsaber, right?" Andrew asked, Harry nodded. "Then why do I get the feeling we've forgotten something?"

"I don't know, did you grab your robes?" Andrew stopped dead at Harry's words, realising he was right, and his holo-com was in the pocket.

"No I didn't," Andrew told Harry calmly. "And my communicator is in the pocket."

With that said, he hoisted his duffel bag higher onto his shoulder and grabbed Hedwig's cage, leaving Harry free to haul his trunk.

"Shouldn't we go back and get it?" Harry asked, struggling to keep up with Andrew's furious pace.

"We should, but I'm not going to," he answered stubbornly. "We'll just find a payphone and make a call to the Temple Switchboard, they'll tell Master Cooper where we are and he'll come and pick us up."

"Slight problem there, I've no Muggle money," Harry said, causing Andrew to stop dead in his tracks.

"Then I know a few numbers we can call, they'll call the Temple on collect," Andrew answered as he went to set off again.

"But what if he's busy?" Harry asked as he slumped onto a wall in Magnolia Crescent, exhausted. Hearing him sigh, Andrew stopped and turned around.

"I know my Master, if he finds out I'm stranded, he'll drop everything to come and find me." Andrew answered, sitting down next to him "We'll just be making it easy for him to find us by staying put."

Andrew was about to ask where the nearest payphone was when the two boys heard something, Harry immediately opened his trunk and grabbed his wand on instinct. Andrew, however, ignited his lightsaber, looking left and right to check for Muggles.

"Lumos," Harry muttered, lighting the tip of his wand, revealing a huge black dog almost directly in front of them, Harry cried in alarm and stumbled back, tripping over his trunk and landing in the road.

The dog ran off and out of nowhere, with a deafening BANG, a purple, triple-decker bus pulled to a stop in front of them, on the side, emblazoned in gold letters, were the words "The Knight Bus".

Andrew, thinking that perhaps he was losing his mind, grabbed Harry and hauled him to his feet, just as a conductor in a purple uniform leapt off the bus and started reading from a card in his hand.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we'll can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this eve-"

He cut himself off when he heard Andrew deactivate his lightsaber. "What the 'eck is that?" he asked, pointing to Andrew's weapon as he clipped it back on his belt.

"It's a lightsaber." Andrew answered, when Stan gave him a funny look, he got a little defensive. "What? You never seen a Jedi?"

Suddenly Stan understood. "Oh right, 'ang about, how come you can see this bus?"

"I'm also a student at Hogwarts," Andrew was beginning to think this guy was totally brainless.

Harry was just about to turn around and look for the dog when Andrew said, "( _Forget it, it ran off already,_ )"

"Woss your names?" Stan asked.

"I'm Andrew, and this is Harry," Andrew answered, not sure what business it was of his.

"This bus," Harry started, getting an idea, "did you say it goes _anywhere_?"

"Yep," Stan answered, puffing out his chest "anywhere you like, long's it's on land. Can't do nuffink underwater. 'Ere," he said, looking suspicious "you _did_ flag us down, dincha? Stuck out your wand 'and, dincha?"

"By accident," Andrew answered, "didn't know this thing existed to be honest, but you _might_ just be the answer to our problem."

Stan looked confused again until Harry asked how much it was for two to London. "Eleven Sickles each," he answered "but for fir'een you get 'ot chocolate, and for fif'een you get an 'ot-water bottle an' a toofbrush in the colour of your choice."

Harry rummaged through his trunk, found twenty six sickles, Andrew just asked for the travel, and then he and Stan got his belongings onboard. There were no seats, just a collection of brass bedsteads next to the windows, a candle burned in a bracket beside each bed, lighting up the wooden panels that lined the interior.

Stan placed Harry and Andrew in opposite beds right behind the driver, who's name was Ernie Prang, he was an elderly gentleman with rather thick glasses, he nodded at the two boys before Stan said "Take 'er away Ern!" as he sat in an armchair identical to Ernie's, in what would have been a passenger seat if they were in a car.

There was another tremendous BANG and Harry was flung violently back into his pillow, he'd been smart enough to put his feet up on his mattress. Andrew wasn't so fortunate, he'd been hurled to the floor and slid right to the back of the bus, his face squeaking along the polished floor.

"This is where we was before you flagged us down," Stan said cheerfully as Andrew got to his feet and struggled back to his bed, where he all but dived to make sure he was laid safely on it.

"Where are we, Ern? Somewhere in Wales?" Stan asked his co-worker.

"Ar," Ernie answered.

Between the noise of the engine, the loud BANGS and Ernie's erratic driving, Andrew and Harry were amazed that Muggles didn't hear this bus all the time. When Harry asked Stan about it, he was told that Muggles don't listen or look properly.

"Mind you, sometimes we pass the odd Jedi who I fink notices we drove right passed."

"Best go wake up Madam Marsh, Stan," Ernie said, "we'll be in Abergavenny in a minute."

Stan passed the boys beds, Andrew just noticing out of the windscreen that anything Ern might hit literally leapt out of the bus' way, then back into place once they had passed.

"You know," Andrew muttered to Harry. "I dread to think what'll happen if we get too close to another vehicle."

"I know what you mean!" Harry hissed back.

Stan came back down the stairs with who could only be Madam Marsh, Ernie slammed on the brakes and all the beds slid a good foot towards the front of the bus. Andrew distinctly heard a snore and looked incredulously at a man near the back of the bus who was sound asleep.

After setting off again, Madam Marsh being off the bus now, Stan calmly took out his copy of today's Daily Prophet, the front cover completely taken up by the story of a man having broken out of prison.

"He's been on the Muggle news," Harry said aloud, catching Stan's attention. Stan then told them both about how he had escaped from Azkaban, something no one in history had ever managed. The story in the paper told of how he was sentenced to life in prison for murdering thirteen people with a single curse.

"Wow," Andrew whistled in awe, "even the Sith would be envious!"

Stan swivelled around in his chair to better look at the boys "Black woz a big supporter of You-Know-Oo" he told them.

"Who, Voldemort?" Harry asked.

Stan swerved the steering wheel so hard a whole farmhouse had to jump out of the way.

"You outta your tree?" yelped Stan. "'Choo say 'is name for?"

"What's wrong with it?" Andrew asked, gradually getting annoyed with people on this matter, Stan looked at him like he was insane. "It's just a French word," when Harry and Stan both turned to stare at him he explained "Vol-de-Mort," he said, sounding out each syllable "is French for 'flight of death'."

"Besides, fearing his name just makes him more scary," Harry added.

After calming down a little, Stan explained that once 'Arry Potter', causing Harry to cover his scar, took down Voldemort, all of his followers were rounded up, and when they got to Black, he blew half a street apart, killing one wizard and twelve Muggles.

"An' you know what Black did then?" Stan asked in a dramatic whisper.

"What?" the boys asked in unison.

" _Laughed_ ," answered Stan, "jus' stood there an' laughed. An' when reinforcements from the Ministry o' Magic got there, 'e went wiv 'em quiet as anyfink, still laughing 'is 'ead off."

"Sounds like he's lost it," Andrew commented, causing Stan to nod.

"If he weren't mad when he went to Azkaban, he will be now," said Ernie in his slow voice. "I'd blow meself up before I set foot in that place."

They soon lapsed into silence, once the Azkaban guards came up in the conversation, and the bus continued to roll its way through the night.

After a while, Andrew had a thought. "Hey Stan?"

"Hmm?" Stan grunted.

"Forgive me for asking this, I'm a Muggle-born." Andrew started, and Stan turned around in his seat. "You said this bus can go anywhere on land?"

Stan nodded "'S right."

"So does that mean it _could_ go to, say, France?"

"Oh no, 'cause that's across water, see? Other cuntries 'ave 'dere own servis like 'dis one, but we can take you sumplace where you can get overseas," Stan explained, before getting up to wake up another passenger who was getting off.

"Hmm, interesting." Andrew mused as his bed slid forward under the bus' brakes.

Eventually the bus emptied out and the two boys were the only ones onboard.

"So, where to in London?" Stan asked.

"Can you take us to the Jedi Temple?" Andrew asked hopefully.

"Sorry, no. Too many Jedi there, they'll notice us," Ernie answered apologetically.

"Diagon Alley then?" Harry asked.

"Righto, 'old tight, then" answered Stan as they shot off again.

"We can walk to the Temple from the Leaky Cauldron," Andrew suggested.

"I'd book a room for the night," Stan suggested.

"The Leaky Cauldron is an Inn?" Harry asked, both of them were surprised since they had only ever passed through to go and do their shopping.

"Sure it is, don' you know nuffink?" Stan asked them "Oh wait, sorry, you're Muggle-borns, probly only ever go there to get yer school stuff right?"

They nodded and he continued "Well, save yerselves walking around London in the dead o' night and get a room,"

"Sounds like a plan, we stop the night and I'll run to the Temple in the morning, borrow a car and come to fetch you and bring you back, we'll be there before lunch at the latest."

Harry agreed with the plan and the bus pulled up.

The two boys and Stan got their belongings off the bus, just as the Minister for Magic announced that he was right behind them.

"Oh crud, I _knew_ I should have made you use your lightsaber," Andrew exclaimed, literally kicking himself.

"Oh not to worry boys, you're not in trouble," Fudge said gently. "You're not exactly the first boys to 'run away from home' as it were, you're also not the first to do so and use magic out of fear."

"So … we're not in trouble?" Harry asked, suddenly worried that he would be expelled.

"No, not in the least, come inside and we'll discus everything, would you gentlemen be so kind as to bring the boys things in. The landlord has already set up a room for them, he'll show you where." Fudge said to Stan and Ernie, giving them a large tip.

"Oh you found him Minister, oh pardon me Young Sir, them." Tom the landlord said as they came into the light of his lamp. "Will you be wanting anything? Beer? Brandy?"

"Just a pot of tea I think," said Fudge as he steered Harry and Andrew inside.

"Mint for me please, if you have it." Andrew added.

Fudge marched the boys to a private parlour, while Tom showed Stan and Ernie where to put the trunk, cage and duffel bag.

Once inside, Fudge asked Harry to sit while he took the only other chair, shrugging, Andrew pulled out his wand from his lightsaber hilt and pointed it at the chair Harry was gestured to.

"Duplicus," he said, creating a perfect duplicate.

"Ah, _now_ I remember you!" Fudge said excitedly. "Yes, a most fascinating piece of work that spell. Have you heard back from the Committee of Experimental Charms yet?"

"No, not yet." Andrew answered. "Why, have you heard something by chance?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, but they should be writing to you soon, for now we have other business," Fudge motioned for them both to sit.

"Now, just to get introductions out of the way," Fudge started, having removed his cloak and sat down as well. "I am Cornelius Fudge. The Minister for Magic."

"World-wide, or just the United Kingdom?" Andrew asked curiously, skipping over the fact that he and Harry had seen the Minister in Hagrid's hut during their last term, the man had come to arrest the gamekeeper on suspicion of him attacking students.

"Just our nation, for every political leader in the Muggle world, there is a Wizarding world counterpart." Fudge explained.

"Ah, so the Americans have a President for Magic, for example." Andrew added.

"Yes, exactly."

Just then, Tom came in with a tray, bearing on it two tea pots, three cups, a bowl of sugar, milk and a plate of fresh crumpets.

Andrew used the Force to serve his own tea while Fudge poured out his own and Harry's teas.

"Well, Harry, you've had us all in quite a flap, I don't mind telling you. Running away from your aunt and uncle's house like that!" Fudge was about to say more, but Andrew interrupted.

"I'm afraid that was my fault, Sir," he said. "I was on the verge of completely losing my temper, and I wasn't about to storm out and leave Harry to deal with the verbal abuse he was getting."

"Oh I perfectly understand, I just thank heaven that you both caught the Knight Bus when you did," Fudge replied, buttering himself a crumpet and pushing the plate towards the two boys. "Come along boys, eat up, you both look dead on your feet."

Andrew and Harry looked at each other.

"Ah you're worried about Harry's Aunt and Uncle, well suffice to say they're angry, but they are willing to take you back next summer, Harry, provided that you stay at Hogwarts over the Christmas and Easter holidays." Fudge explained.

"I always stay at Hogwarts over the holidays, and I don't ever want to go back to Privet Drive." Harry answered.

"Hang on a moment," Andrew interjected. "Did we do something to cause the Ministry to have to come out to Privet Drive?"

"No, however, with the Trace being on the two of you, we did detect a rise in magic, which seemed close to bursting point. When we then detected the two of you leaving, well with Black on the loose," Fudge said calmingly, pausing for a moment. "Well suffice to say we thought it prudent to investigate what happened to cause what was nearly underage magic and make sure you were both safe."

"And Harry, I'm sure you'll feel differently once you calm down." he added, looking at Harry. "They are your family after all, and I'm sure you are fond of each other … _very_ deep down."

Andrew chuckled at that. "I take it I'm banned from their house."

Fudge nodded before continuing. "Now all that remains," he said while buttering a second crumpet. "Is to decide where you will spend the remaining two weeks of your summer holidays."

"The original plan was for us to go back to the Jedi Temple," Andrew supplied.

"Yes, well I would prefer if Harry stay here, it would save him travel time on getting his school supplies and it's quite close to King's Cross." answered Fudge, hoping the young Jedi would agree.

"If you like I can contact your Master later and explain everything."

Andrew considered this and then nodded.

After a quick discussion about Harry's permission slip, where Fudge said he would have to revoke it. "It was meant to be signed by your uncle, as he is the guardian in charge of the household." Fudge said as he shook their hands and left.

"( _Something's fishy here,_ )" Andrew said to Harry.

"( _Definitely,_ )" Harry answered as Tom led them up the stairs to their room.

"( _That excuse about your permission slip was just too damned flimsy to be convincing,_ )" Andrew added as Tom stopped in front of a solid oak door with a brass number eleven.

They were both amazed to see that Hedwig and Snowfire were both in the room, waiting for them when they came in.

"That's two very smart owls you've got there," chuckled Tom. "They arrived about five minutes before you did. Well, if there's anything you need, Mr Potter, Mr Payne, don't hesitate to ask."

He gave them both a bow and left, the owls left their perch, on the wardrobe, and landed on their own master's shoulder.

Sadly though, it was the only room that hadn't already been booked, and it only had one bed. So Harry took the bed and Andrew made himself another hammock in the corner.

Harry sat on his bed, absent-mindedly stroking Hedwig's feathers while Snowfire flew back to the wardrobe.

"It's been a funny night Hedwig," Harry said.

"Too bloody right!" Andrew said with a yawn, Harry yawned too and they both decided on having a power nap.


	2. The End of Summer, The Start of School

Chapter 2 – The End of Summer, The Start of School

A few hours later, with the sun streaming in through the window, Hedwig and Snowfire looked at each other, from atop the wardrobe, and nodded once. Hedwig glided down to Harry's pillow, while Snowfire hopped over to Andrew's web-hammock.

The two owls looked at each other again from opposite sides of the room, nodded again and leaned in to their master's ear, before letting out an almighty screech.

"WHA!" both the boys screamed, Andrew going one further and literally falling out of bed.

"Very un-funny!" Andrew growled once he got to his feet.

They took turns getting dressed in the en suite bathroom, then they went downstairs and had breakfast. Tom served them, in the same room they had spoken to Fudge in earlier, a full English breakfast each, though Andrew said no to beans.

After they had finished eating, Andrew said he would be back soon and moved to leave for the Temple, when Tom showed Jarod, Dela and Mel into the room.

"Oh, good morning, Master," Andrew said in surprise.

Jarod looked a little stern before he tossed Andrew his Holo-com, " _This_ ," he started scolding "was given to me by the Minister for Magic."

"I'm sorry, Master," Andrew answered, bowing his head, "do I need to explain myself? Or have you already been told the whole story."

"I've been told that you all but kidnapped Harry so you wouldn't lose your temper with the Dursley's guest," Jarod answered, his hands on his hips.

"Then you know everything, I apologise, again, Master." Andrew kept his head bowed, both in shame and in respect for his Master, also he didn't dare look Jarod in the eye whenever he was in trouble.

"You are forgiven, but in future be _mindful,_ and _think_ before walking out of a situation like that," Jarod said, placing his hand on his Padawan's shoulder.

They spent the next few minutes, discussing the events at Privet Drive from both the boy's points of view. In the end, Jarod decided that Andrew had in fact been worn to his last nerve, along with Harry as well.

"Harry?" Dela asked, he looked up at her. "Could you come with me for a moment? I'd like to get a drink and I presume you would know more about the menu than I."

Harry and Dela left and Jarod had the two remaining Padawans sit down.

"Now, while the Minister was returning your Holo-com to me Andrew, he requested the services of the Order." he began. "The Council has decided that it's high time for you both to be given an assignment without the assistance of your Masters."

"What is it, Master?" Mel asked, excited to be able to spread her wings a little.

"First of all, Harry is _not_ to know about this, so if he does find out the facts I am about to tell you, I _don't_ want to hear that he found out from you." Jarod told them sternly.

The two Padawans nodded and he continued. "Now, this Black character, as you may or may not be aware, he has escaped from the wizard prison of Azkaban."

Mel was only aware from the Muggle news that he was an escaped convict with a gun but Andrew nodded.

"Apparently he was a big supporter of Voldemort," Andrew answered, adding for Mel's benefit, "the conductor on the Knight Bus told me and Harry a little about him."

"Right, well the suspicion is that he has escaped to hunt down and kill Harry," Jarod explained.

"WHAT!?" Andrew and Mel exclaimed together, sitting up straighter.

"He has been heard in his cell, muttering 'He's at Hogwarts' over and over in his sleep," Jarod continued, "given his history as a supporter of Voldemort, it is believed that he thinks he can help his Master return to power by killing Harry. Your assignment is protection detail, not just for Harry, but for his closest friends. You're the best for this particular job, given that, not only are you at the school already, but you're in Harry's house."

"So, I'm to shadow Harry and Ron," Andrew started.

"And I have to protect Hermione and Ginny." Mel finished.

"Precisely," Jarod answered, "this means that if they choose to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas then you are to stay too."

"But, what if any of them decide to come home?" Mel asked. "We can't stay to guard Harry _and_ protect the Weasleys and Hermione at their homes."

"You are correct, which is why you are to inform me if any of Harry's friends decide to come home, we'll arrange an escort for them to get home safe and stay with them." Jarod answered.

"I should warn you," Jarod continued, "the Sith have been approached about this as well."

"Why?" Andrew asked, "The Sith don't exactly do protection."

"True," Jarod answered, sighing as he sat in the same chair Fudge had been in before, "Fudge told them about the thirteen people Black killed, the Sith saw it as an opportunity to test young Jaxon Starr. I've been informed that his orders are to shadow you and Harry, if he sees Black, he is to kill him."

"So if Black shows up, protect Harry and let Jax do the dirty work?" Mel asked, not liking it.

"Exactly," Jarod said as there was a knock on the door, Jarod called for whoever was there to come in and the door opened.

Tom stepped inside, saying he was sorry to say that there were no additional rooms available, however he had expanded the room that Andrew and Harry were in, conjuring a couple of extra beds.

With that said, Jarod told the two Padawans that their assignment was beginning immediately and that their school things were already in the car outside.

"Oh I already took care of that Master Jedi," Tom said with a bow, "their belongings are now in room eleven."

"Ah, thank you Tom, I take it Muggle locks are mere child's play for you," Jarod answered with a chuckle, "very well, Andrew, Melanie, good luck and may the Force be with you."

"Oh, I almost forgot, here you go Andrew," Mel said, pulling Andrew's Hogwarts letter out and handing it to him.

"Oh, I just remembered, Andrew the results from the blood scan you sent in." Jarod said.

"Yes?" Andrew asked. Jarod handed Andrew a folded piece of paper, Andrew opened it and read the contents. "Wow!" he exclaimed.

"Wow what?" Harry asked as he and Dela came back, the latter sampling a firewhiskey.

"Your midi-chlorian count," Andrew answered. "It's twelve thousand!"

"Wow," Mel answered. "That's fairly high."

"To explain Harry, Master Cooper's last count was eighteen thousand, mine was fifteen thousand and the average four-year-old Youngling is about nine thousand." Andrew explained. "And you've never even been trained in a class!"

"As Mr. Olivander said, Harry, we can expect great things from you." Jarod praised, patting the boy on his shoulder. "This will be good practise for you, Andrew, for the day you eventually take a Padawan of your own."

After the Masters left, Andrew and Mel got to talking quietly, they were certain that the easy part of the assignment was protecting Harry while he was staying at The Leaky Cauldron, simply stay with him and avoid Knockturn Alley. Mel took the time to call Hermione, while Andrew sent Snowfire to Ron to see what his family were doing.

Hermione's family were staying at The Leaky Cauldron as soon as they got back from France, they would be in London on August the twenty eighth. Ron's response to Andrew's letter, was that the Weasleys were already packing up, they were in Egypt and would also be staying at The Leaky Cauldron, they would be there within the next week.

So again, the two padawans knew that until they had to leave for King's Cross, their assignment was an easy one. But how they were going to get Harry, themselves, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, the twins, Percy and Mr and Mrs Weasley from Diagon Alley to King's Cross safely was beyond them. Not to mention Hermione's parents too.

"That's thirteen people, we'd need at least _three_ cars!" Andrew hissed the morning Ron's letter arrived.

"We'll have to talk to Ron's parents, with Mr Weasley working at the Ministry, maybe he already knows." Mel answered.

Deciding not to worry about it for the moment, Andrew and Mel had a rather relaxing time, roaming Diagon Alley with Harry, doing their homework at the ice cream parlour, where the proprietor supplied them with help and unlimited ice cream, and eventually, getting their school shopping done.

"Oh _wow_!" Andrew exclaimed one day as they walked past Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"What?" Mel asked, looking over his shoulder.

Andrew and Harry stared avidly at the latest racing broom on the market, The Firebolt. They read the plaque silently.

"0-150 miles an hour in ten seconds?" Andrew almost squealed, his need for speed sending him into near geek-mode. "That's faster acceleration than a Formula One car!"

Mel then took the opportunity to grab the boys by their ears and literally drag them away. "One, _it's just a broom_!" Mel told them off. "And two, you've both got a broom already." she scolded them as she dragged them to the Apothecary to buy things they _needed_ , like potions supplies.

After they were done there, Andrew and Harry needed new school robes as they had both gained a few inches in their arms and legs, so it was off to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

Finally they went to Flourish and Blotts for their school books, as it happened, Mel had chosen the same subjects as Andrew and Harry.

As they got to the bookshop they were surprised to see an unusual display in the window, a cage, inside of which were multiple copies of 'The Monster Book of Monsters'. The truly shocking thing was that the books were essentially trying to kill each other.

They looked at their book lists and saw that that was the book assigned for Care of Magical Creatures. "Oh, so _that's_ why Hagrid sent me a copy for my birthday and said it would be useful!" Harry exclaimed.

The store manager nearly cried when Andrew and Mel walked in and said they needed two, but almost kissed them when they used the Force to help him get their copies.

After that they all got copies of 'Unfogging the Future', 'Intermediate Transfiguration' and 'The Standard Book of Spells: Grade Three'. Harry got a little transfixed on one of the books in the divination section, as did Andrew when he saw what he was looking at.

"Oh I wouldn't read that," the manager said when he noticed they were staring at a book entitled 'Death Omens: What to Do When You Know the Worst is Coming', "You'll start seeing death omens _everywhere_ , it's enough to frighten anyone to death."

it wasn't the title they were staring at, but the picture of a huge black dog on the cover. Once they left the shop, the boys explained to Mel that the night they had run away from Privet Drive, they encountered a dog that looked almost identical to the one on that book cover.

"It was probably a stray dog," Mel reasoned, "you were both stressed that night, no sense seeing things that aren't there."

The day before they had to catch The Hogwarts Express, Harry, Andrew and Mel ran into Ron, Hermione and Ginny, all sitting at Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour.

"You've all been tanned," Andrew commented jovially as the three of them sat down.

Ron laughed and pointed out that the three of them had been looking for Harry and the Jedi all morning.

"We got our stuff once we'd done all our homework," Mel explained.

"How did you know we were at the Leaky Cauldron?" Harry asked.

"Dad," replied Ginny.

"Did you _really_ hold a lightsaber to Harry's uncle's throat?" Hermione asked Andrew, looking stuck between worried and scolding.

"Sadly yes, I'm sorry to say his sister wore me down to my last nerve," Andrew answered, bowing his head again as Mel rubbed his back.

"Your Dad doesn't know why Fudge was waiting for us when we got to The Leaky Cauldron, does he?" Harry asked Ron.

"I dunno mate," Ron answered.

"But you can ask him tonight," Ginny added. "We're staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight too. So you can come with us to King's Cross tomorrow."

"I'm there too," Hermione said with a smile. "Mum and Dad dropped me off this morning with all my Hogwarts things."

"So they're not coming tomorrow?" Mel asked.

"No, why?" Hermione asked.

"That's a relief," Andrew blurted out, causing the others to look at him, "okay, can't say _why_ so don't ask, but me and Mel have been given our first solo assignment."

"How can it be solo if you're working together?" Ginny asked with a grin.

"We call it a solo mission when you're not being accompanied by a Master," Mel answered, leaving Andrew to continue.

"Basically we're charged with being your bodyguards," Andrew explained, pointing out that Harry, Ron, Hermione _and_ Ginny were involved in their assignment.

"Must be cause.." Ron started but Ginny stomped on his foot to shut him up.

"Anyway!" Mel shouted, to take the attention off Ron's near slip of the tongue. "We're somewhat worried about how we're going to get thirteen people safely to King's Cross, but with your parents not coming Hermione, we only have to worry about eleven."

"So have you three gotten your books and things?" Harry asked, deciding not to debate anything and move on.

Ginny showed off her new books, the same that Harry, Andrew and Mel had bought while Ron showed them his brand new wand.

"The store manager burst into tears when we walked in and told him we needed _three_ of those!" Ron laughed while pointing at Ginny's copy of 'The Monster Book of Monsters'.

"That's funny, when we said we needed two he nearly kissed us," giggled Mel.

"I bet you 'helped' him," Ron laughed.

"We did actually," Andrew laughed too.

"What's all that Hermione?" Harry asked, point at three bulging bags on the chair next to her.

"Well, I'm taking more subjects that you, aren't I?" she answered, pointing out that the books were for Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Ancient Runes, but she got cut off when she said she was taking Muggle Studies.

"What the blooming-hell for?" Mel blurted out. "You're a Muggle-born, you taking Muggle Studies is about as pointless as my Master taking it!"

"Well, yes, but it'll be fascinating to learn about Muggles from the wizarding point of view," Hermione answered earnestly.

"If I had less brain cells than a broom.." Andrew started.

" _If_?" Ginny poked.

Andrew pretended to glare at her. "I'd bet good money that you'll be _teaching_ that class before Christmas."

Hermione ignored him and said she still had some money left to buy herself a birthday present from her parents.

"How about a nice _book_?" Ron asked innocently.

"I could recommend a few good wizarding novels in Flourish and Blotts." Andrew added earnestly.

Hermione dignified them with a smile and said she really wanted an owl, Ron then added that he wanted to get Scabbers checked out and they went to the Magical Menagerie.

Once inside they split up as best they could. Hermione started looking in the cages at the owls while Ron went to the counter to talk about his rat.

The witch there tried to suggest Ron get a new one, since it was sounding like Scabbers might be nearing the end of his life, patches of fur missing, a tattered left ear, a missing toe on his paw, with all that it seemed obvious.

Ron however was sentimental and wanted to keep Scabbers. "Well," said the witch, "if you don't want a replacement, you can try this Rat Tonic." she reached under the counter and brought up a small red bottle.

"Okay," answered Ron, "how much – OUCH!"

Ron's cry was caused by a cat going for Scabbers like a maniac, causing the rat to dive off the counter and run for it.

Harry and Ron ran out after it and Andrew went with them, partly to help them search but mostly to keep to his assignment.

Ten minutes later, Ron found his rat, hiding under a bin outside the Quidditch shop. "What _was_ that?" he asked, massaging his head and putting Scabbers back into his pocket.

"It was a cat … I think," Andrew answered. "It moved so fast I couldn't be sure."

"Where are the girls?" Harry asked, looking around.

"Probably getting Hermione's owl, come on, let's head back" Ron said.

When they got back, the girls were coming out, Hermione and Mel having a somewhat heated argument.

"Ron's going to _flip_ when he sees it Hermione," Mel said with exasperation. "It tried going for his rat once, what's to stop it happening again?"

"Oh stop fussing Mel, Crookshanks will be staying in our dormitory and Scabbers in Ron's." Hermione answered simply.

"You _bought_ that monster?" Ron spluttered.

"He's _gorgeous_ isn't he?" Hermione answered, nuzzling the somewhat ugly cat, who purred happily.

"I couldn't say, I'm more of a dog person," Andrew answered, hoping it got him out of the argument.

"Oh? Which breed?" Ginny asked, trying to get out of the inevitable argument between Ron and Hermione.

"Huskies are my favourite, they just look ..." Andrew tried to find the right words before giving up and sighing, "gorgeous!"

Mel giggled at her fellow Padawan and finally stepped between Ron and Hermione. "Okay, we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one, let's call it a day and move on." she started marching towards The Leaky Cauldron, calling over her shoulder. "We'll just have to make sure that there's always at least _one_ door between the two of them."

Hermione handed Ron his Rat Tonic and followed. Once they got there, they found Mr Weasley sitting at the bar, reading 'The Daily Prophet', which was showing another story about Sirius Black.

"Still no luck catching him?" Harry asked. It turned out that everyone at the Ministry had been pulled off their usual jobs in order to catch him.

"I wonder if there will be a reward if we caught him," Ron thought aloud, "it'd be good to get some more money.."

"Don't be ridiculous Ron," said his father, looking strained, "Black's not going to be caught by a thirteen-year-old boy."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that Mr Weasley," Mel interjected.

"Yeah," Andrew added, "I didn't mention this earlier, but Jax has also been brought in on this, he's under orders to kill Black on sight if he can."

"The Sith have asked a boy to kill someone?" Hermione asked in outrage.

"It is common amongst our ranks," said a voice behind them, they turned to find Drexia Lee standing there. "We test them at a young age, to see if they are capable of making the killing blow."

"But what if he can't?" Ginny asked, a little fearfully.

Drexia looked quite upset for a moment. "He'll be executed," she responded with a tear in her eye. "I know you think me a cold-blooded killer," she said to the two young Jedi, "but I do love my son, I wish that The Master would wait until he's a little older, but you don't defy The Master if you value your life!"

"Then I hope Jax never lays eyes on Black," Andrew said honestly as Jax walked in with his shopping.

"I've finished Mother," he called happily, looking for once like the young boy he was supposed to be, before he noticed that they had company. "Payne, Jabobs." he said to the Jedi with a nod.

"Jax," they said back.

"I understand we'll somewhat be working together this year," Jax said, trying to look unhappy about it.

"Yep, it's gonna be fun," Andrew answered, leaning back on the bar as Jax rolled his eyes.

Jax excused himself to go and put his shopping away upstairs and his mother stayed behind.

"I have one question," Andrew said to the Sith Lord.

"Go on,"

"What happens, if Jax faces Black, and Black escapes?"

Drexia sighed and smiled. "If that were to happen then, so long as Jax were simply outmatched, nothing more would come of it."

Hermione and Ginny sighed in relief, not liking the whole point of Jax's assignment at all.

Just then, Mrs Weasley, Fred, George and Percy came in, also laden with shopping. Percy walked up to Harry and the Jedi, shaking hands with them like they had never met before.

"Are you well?" he asked, only to be interrupted.

"Harry!" shouted Fred, in a posh accent.

"Andrew!" shouted George, in a similar tone.

"Simply _splendid_ to see you old boy." Fred proclaimed, shaking Harry hand vigorously.

"Absolutely spiffing," added George, mimicking the action.

The girls fought hard not to giggle as Percy scowled. "That's enough, now," said Mrs Weasley.

"Mum!" exclaimed Fred, acting like he'd only just noticed his mother, letting go of Harry to seize her hand. "How really corking to see you..."

"I said that's _enough_ ," she said with a little more finality, before putting her bags down in an empty chair and turning to Harry and the Jedi. "I suppose you've heard the exciting news?" she pointed to Percy's Head Boy badge.

"Second Head Boy in the family," she said proudly.

"And last," muttered George.

"I don't doubt that," said his mother with a frown. "I notice that they haven't made either of you prefects."

"Probably because they'd _help_ rule breakers instead of punish them," Drexia laughed out, "yes I've heard of the infamous, 'Gred and Forge' is it?"

Andrew couldn't hold it in any longer and had to lean on the bar to keep upright as he laughed himself sick. "Where on earth did you guys come up with names like that?"

"First year, Christmas," Harry answered, recalling the first Christmas he'd spent at Hogwarts. "Mrs Weasley knitted all of us a jumper with our initial stitched on."

"And we came in saying 'I don't know why she does this every year, we know full well our names are 'Gred' and 'Forge'," added the twins.

This caused another round of giggles, much to Mrs Weasley's disapproval.

"You two should set a good example to Ginny!" she snapped at the twins.

"Ginny's got other brothers to set her an example, Mother," said Percy loftily, before he announced he was going up to change for dinner.

George sighed and pointed out that he and Fred had tried to shut Percy in a pyramid while in Egypt, but their mother had caught them.

That night at dinner, they discussed a small change in sleeping arrangements, Mel was going to move into Hermione and Ginny's room while Ron bunked with Harry and Andrew. Jax and Drexia were offered a seat with the rest of them but they declined.

When the subject came up of how they were getting to King's Cross, the Jedi took a keen interest in the topic.

"The Ministry is providing us with a couple of cars, and not to worry, they're modified, so everyone and everything will fit in easily." Mr Weasley explained, causing the Padawans to visibly relax.

After dinner, everyone felt full and sleepy, Andrew helped Ron to finish packing, and then moved his things into his and Harry's room, just as Mel was coming out.

"Well, back to school tomorrow," Andrew pointed out sleepily as he lounged on his bed.

"Yeah, no adventures this year I hope," Ron answered as he slid under his bed covers.

"We'll have to wait and see," added Harry, using his practise sessions with Andrew, he reached out with the Force and flicked all the lights out.

"Well done," Andrew yawned, and was out like the lights.

The next morning was a little hectic, but not as much as the year before. Tom woke everyone up at seven o'clock sharp, they were dressed and fed by nine, rechecked that they had everything packed by ten and out the door straight away.

Andrew and Mel stood guard, Andrew at the front of the first car and Mel at the back of the second car, while Mr and Mrs Weasley packed all the trunks into the boot of each car.

Next in was Ron, Harry, Hermione, Ginny and all their pets in the front car, the Jedi waited for everyone else to get in the second car, before Mel slid in beside Ginny and Andrew took the passenger seat.

They made it to King's Cross in record time since the Ministry cars seemed able to squeeze themselves between gridlocked cars, once there, the drivers rushed into the station and brought back trolleys and they made it to platforms nine and ten with a good half-hour to spare.

"We'll go in pairs since there's so many of us," announced Mr Weasley, he was about to take Harry through before Mel stepped in front of them.

"I'll go first, make sure the coast is clear," she stated simply, stepping through the barrier swiftly.

Behind her quickly came Harry and Arthur, then Percy and Ginny. Mel waited for Ron and Hermione to come through before she started to take her friends to the back of the train, Percy noticed his girlfriend and this year's Head Girl, Penelope Clearwater and went off with his trolley to greet her.

Mr Weasley stayed with Mel and the others, sticking to Harry like glue as Andrew caught up to them, announcing that he was the last one through the barrier.

Mrs Weasley brought over her older three sons, gave each of her children a kiss, then Hermione, then Harry. "Do take care, won't you Harry?" she said, before she turned to the two Padawans and pulled them both into a tight hug, she kissed each of them on the cheek and said. "Watch over my children, dears."

"Yes, do keep an eye on them," Mr Weasley added.

"Both eyes," Andrew answered.

"As often as we can spare them." added Mel.

While Mrs Weasley was handing out sandwiches, Mr Weasley took Harry to one side for a quick word.

The whistle blew to announce the train was about to leave, Andrew stood firmly with one foot on the train and the other on the platform, Mr Weasley seemed to be waiting for Harry to say something important until Andrew lost patience, guards slamming train doors shut didn't help.

He focused on something that angered him, Marge Dursley sprang to mind, and let out a quick jolt of Force lightning, which hit the ground right next to Harry's foot. The two of them jerked their heads up and Harry ran for the train.

Andrew leaned out of the way as Harry leapt through the door, before pulling himself onboard. There was a small amount of clambering once the door was shut as all the Weasley children, Harry, Hermione, Andrew and Mel all tried to lean out of two windows to say goodbye.

Once the train had turned the corner, and the nine children had unstuck themselves from the window and each other, they split up, Fred and George to find their friend Lee, Percy to find his girlfriend.

Ron nearly told Ginny to go away before Mel reminded him that she was their friend too and a fellow third-year, plus, it would be easier for her and Andrew to do their job, if she stayed with them. So the six of them moved into an almost empty compartment, at the rear of the train. The only other occupant was a man, sleeping by the window. He was young, though with flecks of grey in his otherwise light-brown hair, his robes were shabby with lots of darning patches, and he looked ill.

"Who d'you reckon he is?" Ron asked.

"Professor R.J. Lupin," the Jedi answered together.

"How do you know that?" Ron asked, confused. "Jedi thing?"

Andrew let out a low chuckle as Mel pointed out it was written on his case, which was sitting in the luggage rack above his head.

"Wonder what he teaches," Ron thought aloud.

"Probably Defence Against The Dark Arts," Ginny answered, pointing out that with Lockhart gone that was the obvious option.

"Well I hope he's up for it," Andrew sighed, concerned with how ill he looked.

"So what was so important that Dad nearly made you miss the train?" Ginny asked.

Harry paused for a moment as he thought about how to word it, the others all sitting down except for Andrew, there were only six seats to a compartment and Lupin was using one, so he toyed with the idea of making a web-hammock, but instead sat on the floor under the window.

"He told me that," Harry paused again. "The Ministry think that Black, escaped from Azkaban, to kill me."

"Well, the cat's out of the bag," Andrew announced, "now you know why me and Mel have been assigned as your bodyguards."

"You'll have to be _really_ careful, Harry," Hermione said, "don't go looking for trouble."

"Trouble usually finds me," Harry said, a little annoyed that everyone seemed to think that he wasn't careful.

Andrew, Mel and Ginny laughed. "That's not entirely true you know," Mel pointed out.

"She's right, first year, _you_ opted for going after the Stone, last year, _you_ agreed to going into the Chamber," Andrew added, then he put on a voice from Muggle game shows. "And _what_ will our contestant get up to _this_ year, ladies and gentlemen?"

Harry and Ron laughed, despite the subject they were talking about. "How thick would anyone have to be to go looking for some nutter, who wants them dead?" Ron asked.

"Was that a rhetorical question?" Mel asked with a small grin, she was sat by the door, keeping an eye on anyone coming down the carriage.

"All we need to know is that Harry, and the rest of you, are safe as long as Me and Mel do our jobs right," Andrew stated as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

"What's that noise?" Ron asked suddenly, everyone quieted down and heard a small whistling sound. "It's coming from your trunk, Harry."

Harry got up and fished out his robes and pulled out what looked like a Muggle spinning top, it was spinning and letting out a whistling sound. Harry explained that it was a 'Pocket Sneakoscope' and that it was supposed to light up, spin and whistle whenever there was someone untrustworthy around.

Harry was quick to put the Sneakoscope back in his trunk, wrapped in a lot of clothing to quiet it down. All six of the students were concerned that the noise might wake up the Professor. The topic then turned to Hogsmeade, at which point Harry stated that he wasn't permitted to go.

"Yeah, his aunt signed his form but then Fudge confiscated it, giving some cock and bull story that his _uncle_ was supposed to sign," Andrew explained heatedly.

"Probably because of Black," Ron sighed, he tried to offer that he, at least, would stay at Hogwarts instead but Harry wouldn't hear of it.

Andrew on the other hand, took out his permission slip, touched the tip of his wand to the corner of that parchment, and calmly said "Incendio." setting it on fire.

"What are you _doing_!" Harry and Ron exclaimed as the parchment burned to nothing.

"My job is to guard Harry at all times," Andrew said as he held the ashes in the air with the Force, before tossing them out the window, "how can I do that if I'm not by his side?"

Harry was upset that his circumstances had cost Andrew something precious, but conceded that it made sense.

At one o'clock, the witch with the food trolley came by and Harry bought some cauldron cakes to share out. Ron asked about waking up Lupin, then he wondered aloud if the man had died, only Hermione pointed out that he was still breathing.

A few hours later, Andrew was starting to dose a little, but then he sat bolt upright, as did Mel.

"You okay?" Ginny asked, noticing the sudden movement.

"I sense something," Andrew answered.

"A disturbance in the Force," Mel added, standing up and moving into the corridor.

"What could be the matter?" Ron asked. "We're nearly there aren't we?" just as he said that, the train started slowing down. "Excellent, I'm starving," Ron announced.

"We can't be there yet," Hermione answered him.

"Then why are we stopping?" Harry asked, looking out of the window.

"Harry! Get away from the window!" Andrew hissed, grabbing him and pulling him into the centre of the compartment, in the corridor, Mel had drawn her lightsabers, Andrew drew his too.

The train came to a sudden, jolting, stop, causing luggage in the overhead racks to fall out along the carriages. As soon as that happened, the lights went out, causing the Jedi to ignite their lightsabers.

"What's going on?" Ron asked, looking around by the light of Andrew's saber.

"Do you think we've broken down?" Harry asked, sitting down between Ginny and Professor Lupin.

"Dunno," Ron answered, Andrew frowned as he looked around, he deactivated his lightsaber, slid his wand into the hilt and said "Lumos," igniting a much brighter blade.

Ron leaned over to the window and wiped a hole in the mist. "There's someone out there, I think people are coming aboard.

Just then, Lupin stirred and awoke. At the same time, Neville came into their compartment and sat in Mel's vacated seat.

"Quiet," Lupin said horsely, Mel groaned outside and Andrew's head shot around to face a cloaked figure that just opened their compartment door.

"MEL!" Andrew shouted, moving to attack her attacker, but then he screamed in pain and fell to his knees, clutching at his head as hundreds of fears and memories flooded his mind.

When he came to, the lights were back on, the train was moving and Professor Lupin was offering him a piece of chocolate.

"W-what in Satan's name...?" Andrew asked in shock, looking around to find Ron, Ginny, Neville and Mel sitting in an expanded compartment. Harry was being helped back into a seat by Hermione.

"You and Harry passed out," Ron answered "are you okay?"

"Here, eat this, you'll feel better," Lupin told Andrew and Harry.

"Who screamed?" Harry asked a little frantically.

"Andrew screamed," Ron answered nervously.

"No, it was a woman's voice," Harry said firmly.

Andrew, still not taking the chocolate from Lupin, leapt to his feet. "Where's that … that _monster_ gone!"

"It was a Dementor," explained Lupin, handing chocolate to everyone before practically forcing half the bar into Andrew's hand, "one of the Dementors of Azkaban."

Everyone stared at him. "Eat up, it'll help, I'm going to speak to the driver, excuse me." and with that Lupin was gone.

Andrew sat down again, shakily, Mel asked if he was alright.

"I think … I just realised what that warning was about." Andrew answered her.

"What warning?" Neville asked.

"When I started teaching myself telepathy, there was a warning in the book I was studying from. It said, 'keep your mental barriers strong at all times', and went on to explain that … sometimes you can hear things you wish you hadn't." Andrew explained.

"Meaning?" Hermione asked.

"I was just overwhelmed, by every ounce of fear, of every person on this train," Andrew was holding his aching head again. "It was an overload," he looked at them all, making them realise that he had seen some of their memories.

"Do you have any idea what I heard then?" Harry asked, hoping to know who it was he had heard scream.

"I'm sorry Harry, but imagine you just got about fifteen seconds, of about a hundred different channels blasted into your head at once." Andrew answered.

"And I'm asking you to tell me what you saw on one of them," Harry replied, "I get it, no chance."

"What I don't get," started Mel, "is that exactly happened?"

"Well … that thing … that Dementor … stood there," Ginny started, Harry pointing out that he had looked and it didn't have feet, "and it looked around, at least I _think_ it did, I couldn't see its face, and you two ..."

"I thought Harry was having a fit or something," said Ron, still looking scared, "he went sort of rigid and fell off his seat, he was twitching."

"You had passed out, clutching your head with a pained look on your face," Neville added, looking at Andrew.

"And then, Professor Lupin stepped over you both, walked right up to the Dementor, and pulled his wand out," explained Hermione, "and he said, 'None of us is hiding Sirius Black under our cloaks. Go.' but the Dementor didn't move, so Lupin muttered something, and a silvery thing shot out of his wand at it, and it turned around and sort of glided away..."

"It was horrible," said Neville in a higher than usual voice, "did you feel how cold it went in here?"

"I felt weird," agreed Ron, shifting his shoulders, "like I'd never be cheerful again..."

Ginny started crying, causing Hermione and Mel to go and comfort her. "But didn't any of you … fall off your seats?" Harry asked.

"No," Ron answered, looking worriedly at Harry, "Ginny was shaking like mad and ..."

"And what?" Andrew asked, Ron looked at his sister questioningly and she nodded at him, unable to speak.

"She kept muttering, 'no Tom, stop!', or something like that." Ron finished,

Andrew looked thoughtfully at Ginny. "Memories?" he asked, again she nodded. "I think I could guess what happened to you Mel."

"I found her curled up in a ball in the corridor after the Dementor left," Neville said.

"You remembered that night when you were six," Andrew said with sympathy, Mel nodded as her own tears started to flow. "I'm starting to suspect what makes Azkaban such a scary place to go."

"Why's that?" Ron asked, but just then, Professor Lupin returned.

He looked around with a small smile, "I haven't poisoned that chocolate you know..." causing everyone to take a bite, which made them feel instantly better.

"We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes, are you alright Harry?"

Harry said he was fine and Andrew piped up with a question. "You _are_ our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, right Professor?"

"Yes I am, Padawan…?"

"Payne," Andrew answered, shaking Lupin's hand "Andrew Payne."

The others all introduced themselves, Mel pointing out that they were all third-year Gryffindors, and Andrew asked another question. "These Dementors, did they make us remember our worst memories?"

"That is one of their… talents," Lupin answered cautiously, "some people simply feel miserable in their presence, others recall frightening or depressing memories."

"Might explain your reaction, Harry," Andrew said, patting his friend on his shoulder. "And you Ginny had to be remembering your 'visit' to the Chamber of Secrets a few months ago."

"So what happened when you were six?" Ron asked Mel, tactlessly.

Mel looked down at the floor, screams of death and gunfire ringing in her ears, then she looked up with tears in her eyes again.

"My family was murdered," she answered, "don't ask me why, I've no idea. But the only reason I survived was because when their killers came into my room for me, their bullets stopped in mid air. They went to stab me, and their knives flew out of their hands and into their feet." she paused to take a breath. "The Force saved me that night, and the next day I was living at the Jedi Temple, as an orphan."

The rest of the compartment was stunned into silence, Harry had known a little about the story, but not the whole thing. "I'm sorry," Harry said, reaching across Andrew to place a hand on her shoulder.

"I wish I hadn't asked," Ron said, his shoulders slumping.

The rest of the trip was conducted in sombre silence, but finally they pulled into Hogsmeade station and there was a rush to get off the train, it was freezing in the driving rain. The seven Gryffindor students waved to Hagrid while he was calling for first-year students for their journey across the lake, and joined the crowd of people trying to get a carriage up to the school.

"Just think, it was a year ago today when you crashed," Ron laughed, looking up at the sky wistfully.

"Don't remind me," Andrew moaned, vividly remembering the spectacle he'd caused.

They piled into a coach, Andrew and Mel taking note of the skinny, winged black horse that was linked up to it and they set off, Neville having been pushed into the carriage in front.

"What do you suppose is pulling us?" Ron asked, causing the two Jedi to look at each other, telepathically deciding not to say anything, since it was never a good thing to be able to see something that nobody else could.

"Oh that's just spiffing!" Andrew spat as they passed through the gates and into the school. The others looked out the window and noticed that Dementors were flanking the school gates.

"They're guarding the school?" Mel asked incredulously.

"Looks like it," Ginny answered timidly.

"Well this is gonna be a fun year," Ron growled sarcastically.

Hermione said nothing, watching Harry worriedly as he tried to duck away from the window.

Once they got out of the carriage, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and McCarthy were waiting for them. "You _fainted_ , Potter?" Draco asked mockingly. "Is Longbottom telling the truth? You actually _fainted_?"

"What does it matter, Draco?" Jax asked coldly, as he and Lupin got out of the next carriage. Malfoy paused, muttered something and turned to walk into the castle. As he passed them, Jax paused. "It's all an act, remember that, maybe one day you'll get to see the _real_ Draco Malfoy."

He walked in without another word and the Gryffindors followed. They intended to enter the Great Hall with everyone else when Professor McGonagall called out. "Potter, Payne, Granger! I want to see you three!"

Andrew led the way, gently parting the crowd with the Force until they reached her. She told them that they weren't in trouble and ordered Ron, Ginny and Mel to move along. After that she led them all to her office, once there, she had Harry and Hermione sit and, gently, pushed Andrew into her own chair, much to his protests.

"Professor Lupin sent an owl ahead, informing me that you two were taken ill on the train," she said, looking at Andrew and Harry as she leaned on her desk, looking both stern and concerned.

Before anyone could answer her, there was a knock on the door. Madam Pomfrey came bustling in without waiting for an answer, Harry tried to say he was fine, while looking thoroughly embarrassed, but the Matron cut him off.

"Oh it's you, is it? I suppose you've been doing something dangerous again?"

"It was a Dementor, Poppy" answered Professor McGonagall. They exchanged a dark look.

"Setting Dementors around a school," Poppy muttered, pushing Harry's fringe back and feeling his forehead. "I've no doubt that he won't be the first who collapses."

While she moved to check Harry's pulse, she looked sternly at Andrew. "And what madness have _you_ been playing at? Honestly, just because you're a Jedi doesn't make you invincible!"

Andrew laughed. "Well I was affected by the Dementor too, but for different reasons," he said, before going on to explain what had happened to him and what Professor Lupin had done after the train started moving again.

At that point, Madam Pomfrey nodded approvingly. "At last, we _finally_ have a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies."

"Are you sure you're feeling alright boys?" McGonagall asked, Harry said he was fine.

"Just a sore head Professor, other than that I'm just embarrassed." Andrew answered.

"How so?"

"I simply learned the hard way, I have _much_ to learn about telepathy still."

"Very well. Kindly wait outside while I have a quick word with Miss Granger about her timetable, then we can go down to the feast together."

The boys left with the school matron, who said she would be back shortly, with some pain relief for Andrew's head. By the time she got back, Hermione and McGonagall were just coming out. Poppy handed Andrew a small Phial and told him to drink it all, Andrew downed the substance and instantly felt the pressure in his skull lift.

"Ooh, that's nice!" he sighed, commenting on the lack of pain, before scrunching his face up in confusion. "What flavour is this?"

"Some medicinal potions actually change their flavour depending on the drinker," Madam Pomfrey explained. "So there's no way to really tell, what did you taste?"

"The weirdest mixture of mint and strawberry!" the Jedi exclaimed.

As they got to the Great Hall, Professor Flitwick was carrying the Sorting Hat and its stool out, causing Hermione to complain a little that they had missed the Sorting. The three of them joined their friends at the Gryffindor table, but before Harry could explain why they were called, Dumbledore stood from his seat, at the centre of the teacher's table.

"Welcome!" he said, his voice carrying across the silent hall. "Welcome, to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way, before you become befuddled by our excellent feast..."

Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued. "As you will all be aware, after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

He paused, not looking happy about this fact at all. "They are stationed, at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks," he looked pointedly at Andrew and Mel, "or disguises, or even Invisibility Cloaks." At this, Andrew and Mel noticed Harry and Ron look at each other pointedly. "It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you, to give them no reason to harm you. I look to our Prefects, and our Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs foul of the Dementors."

After looking around the hall, Professor Dumbledore continued. "On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. Firstly, to Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some, mostly, scattered and unenthusiastic applause, except from the Gryffindors who had seen him tackle the Dementor on the train. Ron pointed out, while they were clapping, that Snape looked angrier than usual that he had been looked over for the post yet again.

"As to our second appointment," Dumbledore continued, once the applause had died out, "well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year, in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid," there was a collective gasp of surprise, "who has agreed to take on this teaching job, in addition to his gamekeeping duties."

Andrew was the first to stand on the bench he was sitting on, as he whooped and cheered along with the other Gryffindor students, Hagrid was blushing like mad and Ron was stating he should have know, given the biting book they had been set.

Once this applause gradually came to a stop, and Andrew had sat down again, Dumbledore stated that was all the announcements and called for the feast to begin.

The hall was filled with laughter and chatter as people ate and talked about what they did over summer. Harry and his friends were eager to finish eating quickly so that they could go and congratulate Hagrid on becoming a teacher, hoping it somehow made up for being wrongfully expelled.

As soon as Dumbledore called for everyone to go to bed, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mel and Andrew jumped to their feet and ran down to the teacher's table. They were rather surprised to find Jax there, already shaking Hagrid's hand, but then Andrew, Ron and Harry remembered that he had been there when Fudge had taken Hagrid away.

"It's good to see you getting a little compensation at last," Jax said simply.

"It's all thanks ter you an' the others tha' cleared me name," Hagrid answered, wiping his teary eyes.

He went on to tell them that as soon as Kettleburn had handed in his resignation, Dumbledore went straight to him to offer the job.

"Dream come true eh?" Ron said, reaching across to pat Hagrid's shoulder, causing the new teacher to bury his face in his napkin again. At that point, Professor McGonagall shooed them all away to bed.

They joined the line of their houses, Slytherin in Jax's case, and made their way to their common room. When the Gryffindors got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, she asked for the password, at which point Percy called from behind the crowd that it was 'Fortuna Major'.

"I'll _never_ remember that!" Neville moaned, he'd always struggled to remember the passwords.

Once through the portrait hole and across the common room, the boys and girls split and went up their own staircases.

In the girls staircase, Ginny said goodnight to Mel and Hermione and went to step into the second-year dormitory, only to be stopped by Mel.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"To bed," Ginny yawned tiredly.

"Wrong room dear," Mel giggled softly. "You're a third-year now, you're bunking with us." she then took the younger girl's hand and led her up to the next floor.


	3. New Lessons, New Teachers, New Security

Chapter 3 – New Lessons, New Teachers, New Security.

When the six of them got down to breakfast in the morning, Malfoy was telling the Slytherin table about Harry passing out. Hermione told Harry to ignore it and Harry responded, "I know, he's just 'playing the part'."

This caused Ron to look at him with a mixture of outrage and concern. "You're getting better Harry, your senses are improving." Mel said with praise.

"You mean you're learning to be a Jedi?" Ginny asked with interest, Harry nodded with a smile.

"So you're saying that that Jax guy is right and Malfoy really doesn't _want_ to act like a prat?" Ron asked as they sat down with Fred and George.

"Mhmm," Harry answered as he munched on some toast.

"New third-year timetables," George announced as he passed them out to the other six Gryffindors.

"What did you pick Ginny?" Andrew asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Divination, Care of Magical Creatures and I thought of trying Arithmancy, but Professor McGonagall told me I'd have to take either that or Divination, because the classes are nearly always at the same time." Ginny answered.

"You didn't think about Muggle Studies?" Andrew teased.

"No way!" she exclaimed. "I love my Dad but he can be embarrassing at times, and he took Muggle Studies, he tried suggesting it to me. Muggles are interesting but I think I know all I need to."

Just then Ron pointed out that Hermione's timetable was just insane because she would have to be taking three classes at the same time pretty much every day.

"Easily explained, Hermione, I didn't know you'd met The Doctor," Andrew joked, Mel groaned and Harry and Hermione laughed, while the Weasleys looked confused.

"He's talking about Doctor Who, it's a science fiction show about a Timelord and his time machine," Harry explained in simple terms while Andrew hummed the theme tune, whistling in certain parts. "My uncle and cousin watch it from time to time." Harry added.

Andrew suddenly stopped humming and whistling, diving into his bag and pulling out a sheet of parchment, he started to draw on it. When the others gave him a confused look, Mel explained. "He's just gotten an idea for a new invention," she said simply.

Andrew ate while he drew, by the time they had to leave for their first lesson, Andrew had a picture of a small cube with a few dials and switches on it, and the title read "The T.A.R.D.I.S Cube".

"So what's the idea?" Ron asked as they climbed the stairs in the Entrance Hall.

"Well, The Doctor's ship was called The T.A.R.D.I.S, Time And Relative Dimension In Space. It was always larger on the inside than on the outside." Andrew explained.

"Like a Capaxo Charm?" Ginny asked.

"Thank you!" Andrew exclaimed while hugging her.

"For what?" Mel asked, confused.

"I now know what spell to power the cube with," Andrew answered as they got to the Grand Staircase, they looked at him in confusion and he explained. "The idea, is to adapt a wizarding spell, into Muggle technology."

At this, Ron and Ginny looked a little worried, but Hermione asked, "So how would it work?" Andrew simply answered that he was still going to work on that and they carried on towards Divination.

Ten minutes later, they were all panting for breath. "Don't ... you ... know … the way?" Mel asked as they climbed their seventh staircase.

"Never … been … this way … before!" Andrew gasped.

"There's … got … to be … a shortcut!" Ron growled.

They stopped to catch their breath by a painting of a bare stretch of grass. "I think it's this way," said Hermione, pointing down an empty corridor.

"Can't be, that's south," answered Mel.

"She's right, I can see the lake out that window," added Ginny, pointing.

At that point, someone started shouting at them. "Aha! What villains are these that trespass on my private lands!" it was the portrait, a Knight had come into frame, chasing his horse.

"Oh thank heaven's," Andrew cried. "We're saved!"

At this, the Knight was a little confused. Mel explained that they were lost and were looking for the North Tower.

"A quest!" the Knight proclaimed, suddenly very cheerful. "Come, follow me my dear friends, we shall find our goal, or else perish bravely in the charge!" At those words, he attempted to mount his rather fat horse, and failed. "On foot then, good sirs and gentle ladies! On! On!"

And with that, he ran off the left side of the frame, the six Gryffindors ran too, following the sound of his clanking armour. After ten minutes of flat-out running, some of which on a dizzying spiral staircase, they made it to their classroom.

"Farewell!" cried the Knight, popping his head into the last picture he could get into. "Farewell, my comrades-in-arms! If ever you have need of noble heart and steely sinew, call upon Sir Cadogan!"

"From one Knight to another, thank you!" Andrew called back.

"You're not a Knight yet, Andrew" Mel scolded lightly.

"Can't be long now, Mel. How long do Padawans normally wait, after their first solo mission, before they get to take the trials?"

Mel conceded that Andrew had a point and they joined the other students, wondering how they could get into class, when the door was in the ceiling.

Just as Harry voiced the same question, the trapdoor opened and a ladder slid gracefully down to the landing that they were standing on.

"After you," Ron said with a grin, Harry started climbing, followed closely by Ginny.

When everyone was in the 'classroom' a few were thinking that it didn't look like much of a classroom, more a mixture of an attic and a teashop. Instead of desks, there were little round tables. Instead of the usual chairs or stools, there were armchairs and little pouffes. The whole place was lit with a dim red light, like that of a Sith's blade, the windows were closed and the lamps were coated with red scarves.

With the closed windows and the multiple lamps and the filled fireplace, the place was extremely warm, the fireplace itself was emitting a very strong perfume which made a few of the students slightly light-headed. "Where is she?" Ron asked as the class looked around.

"( _Behind us,_ )" Andrew answered.

"Welcome," said a soft voice in the shadows, making the vast majority of the class jump in fright. "How nice to see you in the physical world at last."

Their teacher stepped into the firelight, revealing herself to be very thin, and wearing glasses which magnified her eyes to look larger than what could possibly fit on her face. She was wearing a gauzy shawl, a multitude of chains and beads around her neck and many bangles and rings around her arms and fingers.

"Sit, my children, sit," She said, spurring the students to climb awkwardly into armchairs or onto pouffes. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Andrew, Mel and Ginny all took a table to themselves. The Jedi opted for a lotus position on each of their pouffes, since they so much resembled what they used back at the Jedi Temple for meditation.

"Welcome to Divination," said the Professor as she sat by the fire. "My name, is Professor Trelawney. You may not have seen me before. I find that descending too often into the hustle and bustle of the main school, clouds my Inner Eye."

The class remained quiet as she readjusted her shawl and carried on. "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset, that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can only take you so far in this field."

"( _Uh oh,_ )" Ginny thought to the others, Andrew, Harry, Ron, and Mel joining her in looking at Hermione, who did not look pleased with this news.

Trelawney went on to make a prediction that Neville's Grandmother was soon to fall ill, tell them that they would study tea leaves for the first term and warn Parvati Patil to beware the red haired man, which caused her to inch her chair away from Ron.

She predicted that once they moved onto crystal balls, their classes would be disrupted by flu and that in Easter, one of the class would be leaving forever.

"I'm starting to think my reasoning for joining this class was a waste of time," Mel muttered.

"You wanted to learn to call on visions too?" Andrew asked, she nodded.

Lavender Brown was then called to pass Trelawney the largest teapot, during which she was told that something she was dreading would happen in October. Then the class was told to divide into pairs, she would pour each person a cup of tea, they were to drink it and then read the leaves. As Neville made to stand up, the Professor caught him by his wrist.

"After you have broken your first cup, would you be so kind as to select one of the blue patterned ones? I'm rather attached to the pink."

"Harsh much?" Andrew asked as he stood up, not relishing the thought of drinking tea when he was a mint drinker.

"I thought of that dear," Professor Trelawney said, pouring his cup from a smaller pot, Andrew cautiously sniffed his tea and was pleasantly surprised to catch the scent of mint. "No sugar though, it will disrupt the leaves."

Sure enough, right behind him, there was a tinkle of china and Andrew spun, hovering his filled cup in the air with the Force, as he fell to one knee and caught Neville's cup just before it hit the ground.

"Here you go Nev," Andrew said as he straightened up and passed the cup back to Neville.

Back at their table, Harry was paired with Ron, Hermione with Ginny, and Andrew with Mel. They drank quickly, swilled the dregs three times with the left hand, turned their cups onto their saucers and waited for the last of the tea to drain, before swapping saucers.

They turned their copies of 'Unfogging The Future' to pages five and six, and attempted to read the leaves.

"So, what can you see in mine?" Mel asked, scrutinising Andrew's leaves.

"Well," Mel started, "I see an acorn, and what might be a sun." she checked her book. "The acorn means 'a windfall or unexpected gold', and the sun means 'great happiness'."

"So I'm going to get lucky in finding something, and it'll make me happy." Andrew suggested.

Before Andrew could read Mel's leaves, Trelawney swept over and snatched Harry's saucer from Ron's hand and proceeded to read from it, stating she could see the Falcon, a deadly enemy (which caused Hermione to snap that everyone knew about Voldemort, not that she used his name), the club which meant an attack, the skull, danger in Harry's path and then she screamed and caused Neville to smash his cup.

"My dear," Trelawney said, over-dramatically, "you have, The Grim."

"The what?" a few people asked at once, everyone else just gasping and clapping their hands to their mouths.

"The Grim, my dear, The Grim!" Trelawney cried. "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen, the worst omen, of _death_!"

At this, Harry, Andrew and Mel looked at each other, Mel kicking herself for what she said in Diagon Alley and the other two vividly remembering the dog on Mongolia Crescent.

Hermione took a moment to look at Harry's cup before pointing out that she didn't think it looked like a Grim. This caused Professor Trelawney to give out a strong impression that she didn't think Hermione would do well in her class, before she called an end to the lesson there and ask the children to pack away their things. Before they left she added to Neville that he would be late to the next lesson and asked him to work hard to catch up.

Their next lesson was in Transfiguration, and even though they had left Divination early, they only just got to class in time. Harry and his friends opted to sit at the back of the class, Harry wanted to avoid all the stares he had been getting ever since Trelawney had pronounced that he would die, but the rest of the class kept looking back at him, as if they expected him to seize up and drop dead.

Professor McGonagall was trying to teach a lesson on Animagi, witches and wizards who could change themselves into animals and back, she demonstrated by turning herself into a cat and back again, frowning a little when nobody applauded.

That was then Hermione put her hand up and explained that they had just come from Divination.

"Ah of course, and which one of you will by dying _this_ year?" McGonagall asked, Harry said it was him and she explained to her class that predicting someone's death was how Trelawney greeted a new class, after which, she got on with the lesson.

She was quickly interrupted by Andrew holding up his hand with a question.

"Yes, Mr Payne?"

"I was just wondering Professor, how does one _become_ an Animagi? Is it a born gift or something you practise?"

Strangely enough, McGonagall smiled. "Well for starters, 'Animagi' is the plural, the singular is 'Animagus'," she explained. "Secondly, a witch or wizard wishing to take on an Animagus form must first drink a potion which can take months to even complete."

She went on to explain how one must hold a Mandrake leaf in their mouth for a full month, without removing it to eat or sleep. Then they had to place the leaf in a phial, under the rays of a full moon. If they succeeded in getting that far, they then had to add some dew which had been undisturbed for a full week and keep their potion out of sight of the sun until the next lightning storm. At this point they drink their potion while using the incantation 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus'. From that point they could then start to make their transformation attempts.

"So how do you find out what form you take?" Seamus asked.

"That is what the potion is for, it gives the drinker a vision of what animal, or in some cases animals, they can transform into." McGonagall answered.

"I imagine some animals are more difficult to transform into than others," Andrew mused aloud.

"You would be correct Mr Payne," McGonagall replied. "For instance, changing into a quadruped, or a four legged animal, is easier than transforming into an animal with wings."

"How come Professor?" asked Dean.

"Because a dog or a cat has four limbs, like humans, but birds have wings which is an entirely different skeletal structure," Hermione answered, earning herself ten points for Gryffindor.

McGonagall then explained that if anyone were considering experimentation that they should come and see her, as it was stupid and dangerous to try alone and besides, once a person became an Animagus, they had to register with the Ministry of Magic by law.

After the lesson was over, Harry being told that if he happened to die then he was exempt from handing his homework in, the six of them made their way to the Great Hall for lunch, during which Ron and Hermione had an argument over Harry's Grim.

"Listen you two," Andrew snapped eventually. "If, _if_ someone or something comes to claim Harry's life, it's gotta go through me and Mel, Harry's not going anywhere except over our dead bodies!"

Thankfully this succeeded in stopping the argument before it got any further.

"Mind you, Divination _is_ looking to be a total waste of time," Andrew pointed out, explaining that he had hoped the teacher could help him call upon a meditation vision, rather than just getting them randomly and being so shocked by the fact, that he rarely caught everything that the vision was trying to tell him.

"To be honest, my Arithmancy lesson was _far_ more interesting," Hermione answered, pointing out that she was considering just dropping Divination to free up more time. Before anyone could reply to this, she got up and walked away.

"What is she talking about?" Ron asked. "She's been with us all morning, how could she get to an Arithmancy class?"

After lunch, the other five joined Hermione at the main doors and started walking down to Hagrid's hut for their first ever Care of Magical Creatures lesson. "Oh joy," Ginny pointed out. "We're taking this class with the Slytherins."

As soon as the entire class was assembled, Hagrid led them part-ways around the forest to an empty paddock.

"Everyone gather round the fence here!" he called. "That's it, make sure you can see, Now firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books..."

"How?" interrupted Malfoy.

"Eh?" asked Hagrid.

" _How_ do we open our books?" Malfoy repeated as he and the rest of the class took out their copies of 'The Monster Book of Monsters' each clamped shut in one way or another.

"Hasn' … hasn' _anyone_ bin able ter open their books?" Hagrid asked as he looked around the class, everyone shook their heads in reply.

He demonstrated that the way to open the books was to stroke the spine.

"Oh yes, _stroke_ them," Malfoy said scornfully, earning a clip around the back of his head from Jax.

After Hagrid left to fetch some Magical Creatures, one of the Slytherins, Earon McCarthy spoke up.

"That oaf teaching classes, just wait until you tell your father eh Draco?"

"I'm not telling him," Malfoy answered, "you tell yours!"

Suddenly some of the girls ooo'd in amazement. Trotting in from the other side of the paddock were beasts that looked to be half eagle and half horse.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid proclaimed "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

"Gorgeous is more like it!" exclaimed Mel as she stepped closer.

After the class got over the initial shock and stepped closer to the fence, Hagrid began. "Now, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is they're proud. Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

Crabbe, Goyle and McCarthy were too busy, trying to figure out how to disrupt the lesson, to listen to Hagrid. "Yeh always wait fer the Hippogriff ter make the firs' move," he continued. "It's polite, see? Yeh walk towards him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed to touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons hurt. Right, who wants ter go first?"

While the whole class stepped back, Harry and the Jedi all said they would at the same time.

"Great!" roared Hagrid, "Right then, Harry you go with Buckbeak, Andrew you go with Fleetwing and Mel, you get Stormswift."

Hagrid then unchained three of the Hippogriffs and led them over, removing their leather collars and giving the three of them instructions.

"Easy now, you three, yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink, Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much."

By this point, the three Hippogriffs were glaring at their respective student, "Tha's it," Hagrid said softly, "tha's it, now, bow.."

Remembering 'The Karate Kid', Andrew heard Mr Miyagi in his head "Look eye, _always_ looka eye!" he slowly bowed to Fleetwing, making sure to crane his head back to keep his eye contact.

To his relief, Fleetwing bowed to him instantly, Andrew glanced to his right, to see Mel still bowing low, having broken eye contact, and then to his left to see Harry straighten up.

Harry was told by Hagrid to back off, before Buckbeak bowed too, and Mel stayed bowed until she sensed Stormswift bow to her.

"Well done!" Hagrid shouted ecstatically. "Right, yeh can touch 'em now, go pat their beaks, go on!"

Andrew stepped forward slowly, remembering another film he had seen. He reached out his right hand, hovering it just out of reach of Fleetwing's beak. Fleetwing paused for a moment, before closing his eyes and pressing his beak into Andrew's outstretched hand.

Hagrid then got Harry and Andrew to ride their Hippogriff, but Mel declined. "I'm happy to fly but _never_ in the pilot's seat!" she said firmly, backing away hastily.

Harry didn't enjoy his flight, but Andrew actually coaxed Fleetwing to take a few extra turns around the paddock, loving every second of it.

After seeing their success, the rest of the class had a go, Ron, Hermione and Ginny had Fleetwing, Malfoy and Jax had Stormswift, and McCarthy, Crabbe and Goyle had Buckbeak.

Buckbeak bowed to McCarthy, who deliberately insulted the Hippogriff by calling him a 'great ugly brute' and was consequently slashed by one of Buckbeak's talons. Sure enough, with Hagrid running McCarthy up to hospital, the class was ended.

Andrew and Mel gently led all the Hippogriffs back to their collars and then joined the rest of the class as they walked up to the castle.

"That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class, trust a Slytherin to mess things up," Ron said angrily.

"Should we take offence to that Draco?" Jax asked innocently.

"Probably not, the whole house has been plotting something to get him sacked the second Dumbledore announced it," Draco answered with slumped shoulders.

"Oh I'm amazed," Ginny snapped sarcastically.

Malfoy muttered something and slipped passed the Gryffindors to get into the Great Hall.

"You're not going to see if he's alright?" Harry asked.

"Why should I? It was his own stupid fault!" Malfoy answered before walking away.

Worryingly enough, Hagrid never showed up at dinner, causing many who were in his class to worry that maybe he _had_ been sacked. Later, while the six of them were in their common room, they were trying to do their homework for McGonagall, but kept looking out the tower window.

"His light's on," Mel pointed out.

"Let's go down and see him," Harry suggested as he put down his quill.

"It's still early enough," admitted Ginny, looking at the clock, "it's not time for curfew yet."

Hermione gave Harry a pointed look. "Oh come on, Hermione, I'm allowed to walk across the _grounds_ , Sirius Black hasn't gotten past the Dementors here, has he?" Harry said, exasperatedly. "Besides, Andrew and Mel won't let me go anywhere alone, right?"

Harry was looking to the Jedi now and they nodded. "Fetch your lightsaber first, just to be safe." Andrew told him, unlike himself, Mel or Jax, Harry wasn't a part of the order, and therefore wasn't permitted to carry his weapon around during lessons.

While Harry ran to his dormitory, the others packed their things away, when he got back they all left through the portrait hole, Andrew taking the lead and Mel bringing up the rear. When they got to Hagrid's hut, they knocked and Hagrid let them in.

One look at Hagrid and they could all tell he'd been drinking, a lot. "'Spect it's a record," he said with a slur, once he recognised who was there. "Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who on'y lasted a day before."

"You haven't been sacked, Hagrid!" the girls gasped or, in Ginny's case, cried.

"Not yet," Hagrid answered miserably, taking another gulp of whatever was in his bucket of a tankard. "But 'sonly a matter o' time, i'n't it, after McCarthy..."

"How is he?" Ron asked as they all sat down two to a chair.

"Wasn't serious was it?" Ginny added.

"Madam Pomfrey fixed him best she could," Hagrid said dully.

"I bet he's milking it," Harry growled, remembering how the matron had regrown the bones in his arm last year.

"School gov'nors have bin told, o' course," Hagrid went on, having not heard Harry. "They reckon I started too big. Shoulda left Hippogriffs fer later … done Flobberworms or summat … jus' thought it'd make a good firs' lesson … s'all my fault..."

Andrew bit back the thought that Hagrid's line of thinking would mean he'd have to keep the lessons just as interesting which would have been inevitably dangerous. Meanwhile Hermione said firmly that it was McCarthy's fault and Harry added that the six of them were witnesses.

"Yes, don't worry, Hagrid, just call us if you need witnesses." Mel said while patting Hagrid's elbow.

At that point, Hagrid started to cry and pulled everyone he could reach into a bone-breaking hug, only Hermione, Andrew and Mel managed to dodge.

"I think you've had enough to drink Hagrid," said Hermione as Mel levitated the mug outside to tip it out.

"Ar, maybe yer right," answered Hagrid as he released Harry, Ron and Ginny, all of whom rubbed their ribs. Hagrid heaved himself out of his seat and stumbled outside, from which direction they all heard a splash.

"What's he done?" asked Harry, nervously.

Andrew got up and looked out the window. "He's stuck his head in a water barrel."

Hagrid came back in, shaking water out of his hair and beard and drenching them all. "That's better. Listen, it was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I really.." at that point he seemed to realise that Harry was there and exploded, shouting at Harry for wondering around after dark and at the others for letting him.

"OI!" Andrew bellowed back, causing Hagrid to be stunned silent. "I'm guessing you're not aware of mine and Mel's assignment."

Hagrid put his clenched fists on his hips and Mel continued. "We've been assigned as Harry's bodyguards, he's safe while we're with him."

"Right, like Sirius Black's gonna be stopped by a couple fir'een year-olds," Hagrid answered.

"Actually I'm still twelve, my birthday isn't for another fortnight," Andrew responded dryly, "point is, he's never gone against Jedi before, so just cool it, okay?"

"If you feel it's necessary to escort us back up to the castle," Mel said soothingly, "by all means do so, but please allow me and Andrew to do our jobs."

"Alrigh'," Hagrid answered, "but still, don' be comin' down 'ere after dark, it's not safe righ' now and I'm not worth tha risk."

McCarthy didn't show up for lessons until late on Thursday afternoon, in the middle of potions class. Pansy asked if he was still hurting and, to his credit, he made a good show of it. Eventually Snape called for the class to settle down, much to the annoyance of the Gryffindors.

They were making something new today, a Shrinking Solution, McCarthy had chosen to set his cauldron up next to Ron and Andrew, Harry was working with Ron and Andrew was to work by himself, using the Force as his partner.

"Sir?" McCarthy called. "Sir, I'll need some help cutting up my daisy roots, because of my arm."

"Payne, cut McCarthy's roots for him," Snape said, not looking up.

"No," Andrew replied, carrying on with his work, and causing the class to let out a collective gasp.

"Excuse me?" Snape said in a dangerous voice.

"Why should I? If he'd been paying attention in class he wouldn't be wounded." Andrew answered, looking up at Snape coldly, not even sparing McCarthy a glance. "I've _no_ sympathy for _stupidity_ and I am _not_ helping him!"

Before Snape could explode, Jax chipped in from the row in front, "McCarthy, ask one of your _friends_ to help you," he said lazily, tapping the hilt of his lightsaber. "Before _somebody_ gets hurt."

McCarthy noticed the sadistic grin on Jax's face and went very pale, before moving his cauldron to the other side of the room and begging Blaise Zabini to help him. Blaise rolled his eyes and did so.

"Thanks," Andrew muttered, "you saved me from having to do that."

"Oh well in that case, I apologise," Jax replied casually, grinning slightly. "I'd have paid good money to watch you lose your temper."

Malfoy, on Jax's left, choked and started to laugh.

"Okay, har har, very funny. Can we get on with work now?" Mel asked haughtily.

A few moments later, Malfoy spoke up, quietly. "I have some bad news."

"What?" answered Jax, timing his potion while it stewed.

"I got a letter from home, Father's _furious_."

"What for?" ask Andrew, he too was stewing, in more ways than one.

"For me not telling him about McCarthy's injury, he's told me the 'good news' though, he's planning to personally see to it that Hagrid is sacked."

"Guess McCarthy decided to tell your daddy for you," Ron spat.

"Not likely, he might be milking it, but I doubt he can write much with that hand," answered Ginny, who was standing in front of Harry and working with Draco.

"It was _Pansy_ ," Malfoy clarified, spitting out her name as though it tasted foul.

"Oh yeah, I remember now, she's betrothed to you but digs him," Jax answered.

Malfoy shuddered. "Can we get off this topic quick?"

"So what's your father up to this time?" Mel asked.

"Oh he's complained to the school governors _and_ the Ministry of Magic," Malfoy growled.

"The question then is simple," said Andrew, leaning on his desk. "Can we count on you to be a witness?"

Before Malfoy could answer, Snape drew everyone's attention to Neville's potion, which was..

"Orange, Longbottom." he said, splashing some of Neville's potion with a ladle. "Orange. Tell me, boy, does anything penetrate that thick skull of yours?"

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, Snape!" Andrew said, losing his temper and reaching for his lightsaber.

"You dare to speak that way to a teacher, Payne?" Snape answered coldly, eyeing the lightsaber.

"No, I dare to speak that way to a _bully_! You have _no_ right to be a teacher with _that_ attitude!"

Trying to be diplomatic, Hermione offered to help Neville. "I don't recall asking you to show off, Miss Granger!" Snape snapped.

"Then _I_ will, I've finished my potion anyway!" Andrew snapped back, shoving Snape out of the way and standing next to Neville.

"Touch one of his ingredients and I will have you expelled, Payne!" at those words, Andrew had had enough.

There was the hiss of an igniting lightsaber, and the room was bathed in its blue light. Andrew pointed his blade at Snape's chest. "Want to threaten me again _Professor_?" causing Snape to draw his wand.

Jax and Mel looked at each other and then jumped in, Mel getting in front of Andrew and Jax blocking Snape's view.

"Enough is enough," Mel said calmly.

"Professor, even _you_ don't want this to go any further, so just drop it." Jax said, trying, and hurting himself in the process, to be diplomatic. "Just let Payne save Longbottom's hide and call it a day?"

Snape and Andrew glared at each other, over Mel's and Jax's shoulders. Andrew then took a calming breath and deactivated his lightsaber, putting it away as Snape did the same with his wand.

Andrew then proceeded to lean, casually, on the desk next to Neville and ask him what he thought should be done next. Whenever Neville said something that would make it worse, Andrew calmly suggested the right option and by the end of the class, Neville's potion looked the same as everyone else's.

"Now, let's see how good a _teacher_ Payne is, shall we?" Snape said cruelly. He ordered Neville to hand over his toad, Snape took a sample of Neville's potion and announced "If this is a Shrinking Solution, Longbottom's toad will shrink to the size of a tadpole." This caused most of the Slytherins to snigger.

"If, as I have no doubt, this is _not_ a Shrinking Solution, this toad will most likely be poisoned."

"Oh and I'm sure you've _just_ run out of antidotes," Andrew spat.

Snape ignored him and used a spoon to trickle a few drops down Trevor's throat. He gulped, shrank to the size of a tadpole, and Snape applied the antidote to return him to full size.

"Five points from Gryffindor! Class dismissed!" Snape shouted.

Suddenly, Mel was seething and lightning was crackling around her fingers. Before she let loose however, Jax took her hand, wincing from the shock, and pulled her from the classroom.

Outside, she was leaning on a wall and panting. "I'm sorry … I don't know what came over me."

"I think I do," Jax answered, "it's your experiences from last year. The Dark Side has a small hold on you." Mel listened to this and started to cry. "If you like, I can help."

"How exactly? By training her as a Sith?" Andrew answered, not liking the idea of losing Mel to the Dark Side.

"No, by teaching her control, you think I find it easy to act the way I do?" Mel shook her head. "Exactly, I don't. Meet me by the lake on Saturday, I'll help you learn my level of control." Jax said, turning on his heel and leaving.

"Five points off for getting it RIGHT!" Ron shouted the last part back towards the classroom "It's not fair! What do you think Hermi… where'd she go?"

They all looked around and noticed that Hermione was gone. Then Ginny noticed her, running up the stairs and tucking something into the front of her robes.

After Ron tried to make sense of her apparently jumping from one place to another, Hermione's bag splitting and Ron complaining that she was carrying books for lessons they just didn't have that day, Andrew and Mel were a little suspicious.

"( _There's something you're not telling us Hermione,_ )" Andrew said to her, making sure only she and Mel could hear.

"( _We're supposed to be protecting_ you _as well you know,_ )" Mel added.

"( _I'm sorry, but I can't explain, Professor McGonagall's orders,_ )" Hermione answered.

"( _Fair enough, I'll take it up with her later,_ )" Andrew said and they moved on to lunch.

When they later got to the Defence Against The Dark Arts classroom, Professor Lupin wasn't there. After taking seats, getting out their things, and starting a few conversations, he showed up. "Good afternoon, if you would kindly put your books away, today's will be a practical lesson, you will only need your wands."

Andrew and Mel exchanged worried looks as they recalled their first lesson last year, where Lockhart had brought a cage of Pixies to class and let them loose. That had been the only practical lesson they had ever had in this classroom.

Glancing across the room, Harry noticed Jax rolling his eyes, the Slytherins hadn't been sharing this class with them before but word of Lockhart and the Pixies spread around school quickly.

"Right then," Lupin said, once everyone was ready. "If you'd all follow me."

With that, he turned around and led everyone into the corridor, once they rounded he corner, they saw Peeves, floating upside-down and stuffing a keyhole with chewing gum. When he noticed the class he cackled and started singing "Looney, Loopy, Lupin!" over and over. Lupin calmly smiled and advised Peeves to remove the gum, but he just got a raspberry blown in response.

Andrew stepped forward and growled. "Peeves, I've pointed my lightsaber at Professor Snape this morning, don't test me!"

Before Peeves could process this, Lupin sighed and pulled out his wand, he placed a hand on Andrew's shoulder to pull him gently back and told the class. "This is a useful spell, please watch closely," he held his wand at shoulder height, pointed it at Peeves and called "Waddiwasi!" causing the wad of chewing gum to shoot out of the keyhole and into Peeves' mouth, he choked and flew off, spluttering and cursing.

"Wow, now _that_ was cool!" Dean exclaimed.

"Thank you Dean," Lupin said, putting his wand away. "Shall we proceed?"

They set off again, the class looking at Lupin with increasing respect, and were led right to the door to the staff room. "Inside please?" said Lupin, holding the door open for them.

Inside, they found Processor Snape, he looked up from his book, saw Andrew and they shared a look of pure hatred. Once Lupin came in he made to close the door, but Snape spoke up, "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." Snape said, standing up and sweeping over to the door.

When he got to the door he paused. "Perhaps nobody has warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom, I wouldn't entrust him with anything difficult.."

Andrew and Mel let out identical growls and reached for their weapons, causing Snape to rethink his words and excuse himself.

"Well, that's a shame, I was hoping Neville would help me with the first stage of the operation, don't worry Neville, I'm sure you'll perform admirably." said Lupin, causing Neville to turn scarlet.

"Now then," Lupin continued, brushing passed his class and striding towards a wardrobe at the far end of the staff room, as he approached, the wardrobe wobbled and banged against the wall behind it.

"Nothing to worry about," Lupin told the class calmly. "There's a Boggart in there." This caused most of the students to react with fear.

"I'm sorry, a what?" Andrew asked.

"Not to worry, I shall explain. Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces." Professor Lupin explained. "Wardrobes, the gap under beds, the cupboard under the sink … I once met one that had crammed itself into a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday, and I asked the Headmaster if it could be left alone for my third-years to practise on."

"So you mean to tell us," Jax spoke up. "That when Muggle children go running to their parents screaming about 'monsters' under their beds … it's that thing?"

"Yes as a matter of fact, ten points to Slytherin." answered Professor Lupin. "So therefore the first question we should ask ourselves, is 'What is a Boggart'?" Hermione put up her hand and Lupin nodded to her.

"It's a shape-shifter," she said. "It can take the form of whatever it thinks we fear most."

"I couldn't have put it better myself," answered Lupin, making Hermione beam. "So the Boggart within hasn't yet assumed a form. He doesn't know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us fears most."

"In that case Sir," Andrew started, putting up his hand. "Do you mind if I go first?"

"For what reason?" Lupin asked.

"Curiosity really. We Jedi are trained not to fear, to be honest I have no idea what my fear is, it'll be interesting to find out." Andrew explained.

Lupin considered this for a moment, then motioned him forward. When Andrew got close enough, Lupin whispered in his ear "If you can, think of a way to make your fear comical, then point your wand and say 'riddikulus'."

Andrew nodded and took his place before the wardrobe, Lupin pointed his wand at the doorknob and it opened.

What stepped out looked _a lot_ like Andrew, only his hair was longer, shabbier, and he had no braid. Jax mocked, "What? You're afraid of yourself?"

But Andrew wasn't listening, his eyes were locked on his doppelgänger's belt. Clipped there, were the unmistakable lightsabers of Master Jarod Cooper, Master Dela Balo, Mel, Jax, and two others Andrew didn't recognise.

The Slytherin students in the class were all laughing now, until the Boggart opened his eyes. 'Andrew's' eyes, were yellow, not green, he bared his teeth and drew the two weapons Andrew didn't recognise. Once ignited, they were revealed to be Sith blades.

Reacting fast, Andrew drew his blade, just in time to raise it into a defensive position and block the sabers trying to sever his head. Sith Andrew had let out a blood curdling scream as he shot across the room. The two of them traded blows, neither getting the upper hand, until the remaining weapons on Sith Andrew's belt hovered into the air, and ignited. Andrew flipped over his opponent as Mel and Jax dived in, the three of them fighting off seven blades at once.

"Everyone, quickly, point your wands and shout 'Stupefy'!" Lupin shouted. While Jax and Mel held Sith Andrew's arms wide, Andrew himself tried to reign in the other five blades as the entire class stunned the Boggart and forced him back into the wardrobe.

Andrew fell to the floor, gasping for breath from a mixture of fear and exertion. "Are you alright?" Lupin asked him, helping his student to one of the chairs.

"Yeah," Andrew gasped. "At least, I will be."

"Interesting, the only thing you fear, is yourself." Lupin said.

"I think I'll need to sit this one out, Professor." Andrew gasped quickly, in one breath, sagging back into the chair.

"I quite agree, I've never seen a Boggart take such a violent form."

Leaving Mel and Jax to help Andrew calm down, Jax not helping much since he was too impressed at how powerful Andrew would be if he turned to the Dark Side, Lupin continued with the lesson.

"Now, that little drama aside. We have just demonstrated one huge advantage we have over this Boggart, have you spotted it Harry?" Lupin asked.

Harry thought about it for a moment, Hermione being a slight distraction by bobbing on her toes. "Er … oh, strength in numbers! Because there's so many of us, it doesn't know what form it should take!"

"Exactly, even just now, when Melanie and Jaxon stepped in, the Boggart faltered. It's always best to have company when dealing with a Boggart, it confuses him. Which form should he become, a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake, he tried to frighten two people at once and..." he cut off when Andrew suddenly started laughing.

"I'm sorry, I just got a vivid picture in my head of something like that … I'm seeing a snake tie itself into a knot!" the rest of the class laughed too.

Lupin chuckled. "Well you've just brought me onto my next point." he turned to the rest of the class. "The charm that repels a Boggart is very simple, but requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes off a Boggart is _laughter_. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing."

"I think I'd like another go at this Professor," Andrew said, standing up as an idea came into his head. "After Neville of course."

"You're sure?" Lupin asked, Andrew nodded and Lupin smiled. "Very well, we will practise the charm without wands first. After me, please … riddikulus!" The class repeated him. "That's good, now with a little more feeling, riddikulus!"

"Riddikulus!" The class chanted.

"This class is ridiculous," McCarthy muttered.

"Shut up," Malfoy snapped, trying to pay attention.

"Good," said Professor Lupin. "Very good. But the charm is just the easy part I'm afraid. You see the word alone is not enough, and that's where you come in Neville."

Neville at this point looked horrified. Lupin called him forward and asked him what he was most afraid of.

"Professor Snape," Neville whispered, Lupin said he couldn't hear and Neville repeated himself, loud enough for the class to hear, nearly all of them laughed.

Lupin chuckled too. "Yes, Professor Snape, frightens all. And I believe you live with your Grandmother?"

"Yes, but I don't want the Boggart to turn into her either!" Neville answered quickly.

"Don't worry, it won't, now I want you to picture the clothes your Grandmother usually wears," Lupin said.

"Well … always the same hat. A tall one with a stuffed vulture on top..." Neville started.

"No need to tell us Neville, if you can see it, we'll see it," Lupin cut him off, confusing the rest of the class a little. He stepped forward. "When that Boggart steps out of the wardrobe, in the form of Professor Snape, here is what I want you to do." he then bent low and whispered something in Neville's ear.

Neville recoiled slightly and looked at Lupin like he had gone mad. But Lupin straightened up and announced to the class. "If Neville is successful, the Boggart is likely to turn his attention to each of us in turn, I would like all of you to take a moment now, to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical..."

Andrew took a second to snigger at the image in his mind, hearing Ron mutter behind him. "Just give it skates." he prepared himself, by removing his wand from his lightsaber.

"Everyone ready?" Lupin called. Everyone nodded and rolled up their sleeves and Lupin called for everyone to give Neville some room, the response was for everyone to form an orderly queue behind Andrew.

Lupin opened the wardrobe again by pointing his wand at it, and Snape came out, looking as menacing as ever. Neville backed up, mouthing wordlessly as Snape reached into his robes, then Neville finally uttered "R-r-riddikulus!" and, with the sound of a whip, Snape stumbled back, wearing a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat, topped with an ugly-looking vulture, and swinging a huge crimson handbag from his hand.

There was a roar of laughter and the Boggart stood there, confused. "Excellent, Neville!" Lupin cried. "Andrew, forward!"

Andrew stepped forward and the Boggart took the form of his dark side again, leaping into battle, Andrew blocked with his blade in his left hand and, with his right hand, pointed his wand at the Boggart's stomach and said "Riddikulus!" his opponent turned black and white, and said "I like trains" in a monotone, before a black and white drawing of the Hogwarts Express slammed into him, blaring a horn. Andrew creased up, giggling, "I saw that on the internet once!"

Parvati was next, her Boggart was a bloodstained mummy, which tripped on its own bandages when she cast her spell. Following her was Seamus, who had a banshee, he cast his spell and she lost her voice.

With a series of cracks, the Boggart turned into a rat, chasing its own tail, a slithering snake, and a single bloody eyeball. "It's confused, we're getting there, Dean!" Shouted Lupin over the laughter of his class.

Dean stepped forward and the Boggart took the form of a severed hand, crawling towards him like a crab, he cast his charm and it was caught in a mouse trap. Ron was called forward and his Boggart made a few people scream as it took the form of one of Aragog's children. Ron called out "Riddikulus!" and its legs went everywhere, due entirely to each one now sporting a roller skate.

Ron moved out of the way, letting Harry step forward for his turn. He was grinning quite happily as he raised his wand.

But Lupin noticed who was next and jumped in the way, causing the Boggart to take on the form of a full moon, coming out from behind a bunch of clouds, Lupin said "Riddikulus," almost lazily and the moon turned into a yellow balloon, letting out a loud farting noise as it zoomed around the room and ran out of air, until finally it crashed into the open wardrobe and the door slammed shut.

"Well that certainly was fun," Lupin said, "Five points to Gryffindor for everyone who took on the Boggart, and five each to Harry and Hermione."

"They didn't even _do_ anything!" McCarthy spat, annoyed at how many points Gryffindor just got, none of the Slytherins had a turn at the Boggart.

"They answered my questions correctly, at the start of class." Lupin answered calmly. "Excellent lesson, everyone. Homework, kindly read the chapter on Boggarts and summarise it for me. That will be all."

The Gryffindors chatted excitedly as they left, Andrew pointing out that Dean's fear looked like something out of 'The Adams Family', making a few Muggle-borns laugh. Lavender wondered aloud why Professor Lupin was afraid of crystal balls, but Harry stayed quiet.

"What's up Harry?" Ginny asked.

"I wish I knew why he stopped me." Harry answered.

"What do you mean?" asked Ron, having not noticed.

"I was about to take on the Boggart, when Lupin jumped in front of me." Harry explained.

"I'd ask him as soon as you can," Mel answered. "Until then, no sense worrying about it."

"By far, _best_ Defence lesson we've _ever_ had!" Andrew exclaimed.

"I still can't believe you got your idea from Youtube," Jax said, shaking his head.

"ASDF wasn't it?" Mel asked.

"Yep," Andrew answered with a huge grin.

"He seems like a good teacher," Hermione added approvingly. "I just wish I got a go at the Boggart."

"What would it have been?" Ron asked. "A piece of homework you only got nine out of ten on?"

"Oh very funny Ronald!" Hermione snapped.

Lupin's class quickly became the school favourite, the only people who could say anything bad about him or it, were of course the Slytherins, most of them anyway. Some of the Slytherins liked him, the others just kept saying he shouldn't be a teacher, based solely on how he dressed.

The vast majority of the castle, however, didn't care that his robes were patched or frayed. His continuing lessons were just as interesting as the first, the third-years went from studying Boggarts, to Red Caps.

Red Caps were goblin-like creatures which lurked wherever there was bloodshed, like the dungeons of castles and the potholes of deserted battlefields. If they ever encountered someone who was lost they tended to bludgeon them to death.

From Red Caps, they moved onto Kappas, a sort of scaly monkey which lived in water and strangled anyone who waded into their ponds.

Sadly as Defence Against The Dark Arts became more popular, Snape became more difficult to cope with. He had heard about Neville's Boggart and had taken to bullying him even more than usual, but he toned it down, eventually. Andrew had taken to calling Dumbledore with his Hovercam during one of the lessons.

Dumbledore got a front row seat into what Snape was doing to Neville, and midway through one lesson, the Headmaster burst in and gave Snape a thorough telling off, even quoting some of the things he had said.

Divination was also proving to be an awkward subject, what with Trelawney nearly bursting into tears every time she looked at Harry, but some of the class, Parvati and Lavender being head of the line, chose not to listen to what McGonagall had said about the Divination Professor, and took every word she said with reverence.

Sadly Andrew's prediction, about Hagrid leaving a tough act to follow, proved to be correct, as now Hagrid was teaching lesson after lesson on the care of Flobberworms.

"Am I the only one bored out of my skull?" Mel and Ginny asked at the same time, followed by them both saying "Jinx! Double Jinx!" and proceeding to giggle.

Midway through one lesson, Andrew was bored too, and started humming the tune to 'The Banana Boat Song'.

"Daylight come and me wan' go home," Dean and Seamus chimed in from their spot next to him.

"Work all night on a drink a'rum!" Andrew sang a little louder.

Within a minute most of the class was singing while they fed the Flobberworms. But they only got through the first verse, before Hagrid joined in and created a fit of giggles.

Once October started though, Andrew and Harry had something else to think about, Quidditch. A fact they were delighted to be reminded about. Oliver Wood had called a team meeting one Thursday after classes, to discuss tactics for the upcoming season.

Oliver was seventeen, and in his final year at Hogwarts, a fact he was quick to point out to his seven team mates. "This is our last chance. _My_ last chance, to win the Quidditch cup." he was pacing up and down, like a General, inspiring his troops. "Gryffindor haven't won the season in seven years."

"Now I realise we've had the worst luck, injuries," he glanced at Harry "then the tournament being called off last year. But, we have the _best team in the ruddy school_!"

Andrew and the twins let out at cheer at this. "We've got three _superb_ chasers," he continued, pointing to Alicia, Angelina and Katie, "two _unbeatable_ beaters."

"Oh stop it Oliver, you're making us blush!" Fred and George said.

"We've got a Seeker who has _never_ failed to win us a match! AND, we've got an all-rounder who leaves everyone else eating his dust!" Oliver finished, Andrew got off his perch, he was sitting on the blackboard, and placed his hands on Oliver's shoulders.

"Don't forget you, _you_ put this team together, _you_ are our leader!" the young Jedi told him.

"Here, here!" the team chorused.

Wood smiled, a tear welling up in his eye, then he continued pacing. "The point is, that cup should have had our name on it for the last two years. Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought it was in the bag. But we've still not gotten it, and this is our last chance to see our name on the thing."

"And like you said, we've got the best team!" Andrew shouted, punching the air.

"This year's _our_ year!" Fred crowed.

"We'll do it, Oliver!" Angelina cried with a nod.

"Definitely!" Harry added.

So with high spirits, the Gryffindor team started training, none of them cared that they were getting colder, wetter, muddier, or anything. Even Andrew was taking it seriously and keeping his antics in check.

One night, after a particularly freezing training session, Andrew and Harry got back to the common room to find it abuzz. It turned out the first Hogsmeade weekend had been scheduled for Halloween. Fred was happy to hear this as he needed to visit the joke shop there, but Harry's good mood was slowly being destroyed.

"Maybe you can go next time Harry," Hermione said consolingly "After-all, Black's already been sighted once already, so they're bound to catch him soon." she added, referring to a recent publishing of 'The Daily Prophet' that said so.

Ron pointed out that Black wasn't about to try anything in Hogsmeade and that Harry should ask for McGonagall's permission, arguing that Harry couldn't be the only third-year left behind.

"Well he's not, don't you remember?" Andrew pointed out. "I burned my permission slip."

"Plus, I don't really feel like going," Ginny added, sitting on the arm of Harry's chair. "I know it sounds stupid, but I'm still only twelve, I don't think I really should be going until next year."

The next few minutes were a blur, involving Crookshanks making another attempt at Ron's rat, followed by Ron and Hermione having another row over their pets, much to the amusement of the other Gryffindors.

Ron stormed off to bed afterwards, leaving Hermione to grow very upset. The next morning at breakfast, they came close to speaking again after Andrew received a letter.

 _Dear Mr Payne,_

 _Re: Your 'Duplication' Charm_

 _You will be pleased to hear that we have tested your new spell extensively and are now able to supply you with the results._

 _We have found that the use of this spell on inanimate objects is both harmless and long-lasting, perhaps even permanent, the goblets we copied are still with us. However_ extreme _caution should be taken when copying anything biological._

 _Experiments showed that any bio-matter, living or dead, disintegrated within thirty minutes of being copied, with one exception where an elderly dog was duplicated, the copy expired of natural causes and the body remained intact._

 _As a result of these experiments, we have deemed it safe and prudent to have this spell taught in all Witchcraft and Wizardry schools across the globe._

 _Congratulations on a fine creation._

 _Gilbert Wimple, Head of The Committee on Experimental Charms._

"Awesomeness!" Andrew cried, leaping from his seat at the Gryffindor table. "I've officially invented a spell!"

Some members of the Hall applauded while some called out, asking what it was, causing Andrew to demonstrate by duplicating his watch. "Always good to have a spare," he said casually as he placed the spare in his pocket.

Hermione and Ron both congratulated Andrew at the same time, then looked at each other. Before Hermione could say anything, Ron got up and walked away.

It wasn't until their Herbology lesson, that Hermione screwed up the courage and asked how Scabbers was, to which Ron angrily told her that he was hiding at the foot of his bed and shaking.

Things got worse outside their Transfiguration class, where Lavender Brown was crying her eyes out. She'd had a letter from home to say her rabbit Blinky had been killed by a fox.

"It's just like Professor Trelawney said!" Lavender cried. "'That thing you are dreading, it will happen on the sixteenth of October.'"

"Not _entirely_ accurate though," Andrew said thoughtfully.

"How could you say that?" Parvati snapped.

"Well, it couldn't have happened _today_ ," Andrew pointed out, as it was the sixteenth.

"It'd be one bloody fast owl if it did!" Seamus added.

Lavender sniffled. "It was last week," she wiped fresh tears from her eyes. "My parents couldn't bring themselves to tell me until now."

Mel put a hand on Lavender's shoulder. "I know this won't help much. But Blinky's not gone, he's one with the Force now."

"Was Blinky an _old r_ abbit?" Hermione asked, putting her foot in it.

"No, he was only a baby!" Lavender answered, starting to cry again.

"I'm just trying to figure out how you were dreading him dying, since it's come as such a shock." Hermione added.

"Ignore her, Lavender," Ron chipped in. "She doesn't think other people pets matter very much."

Andrew was about to smack Ron upside the head, but McGonagall opened her door before he could.

They sat at the front, Ron and Hermione refusing to even look at each other, which made for an awkward lesson. At the end of the class, Professor McGonagall brought up Hogsmeade, stating that they should hand her their permission slips before Halloween.

As Neville tried to tell her that he had lost his, Ron urged Harry to ask if he could go, since his slip was confiscated by Fudge. Harry agreed and tried to explain.

"My Aunt signed my form, but the Minister for Magic took it from me, saying my Uncle was supposed to sign." Harry explained, Andrew added that he was a witness.

"I'm sorry, Potter, but I cannot overrule the Minister," She answered him, putting a pile of her papers in a draw. "Mr Payne, I presume you have your slip."

"As a matter of fact, Professor," Andrew started, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I set mine on fire, deliberately."

McGonagall narrowed her eyes a little. "Might I ask why?"

"I'm assigned as Harry's bodyguard while Black's at large, didn't see any point in going out while he was stuck in here." Andrew answered simply.

"Very well, I'll arrange for you both to have another slip sent to you during next summer." McGonagall said, adding that the boys should get going before they were late for their next lesson.

So with nothing to be done, Harry and Andrew drowned out everyone else's plans, for where they would be going first, by planning what they would do with their day, besides homework.

"If everyone else is taking a day off from homework, I say we do so as well!" Andrew proclaimed.

This was met with a cheer from Hermione, which caused Ron to gape at her in shock.

Thanks to that, Hermione and Ron had completely forgotten their squabble by Halloween, deciding to put their combined efforts into cheering Harry up. Offering to get Harry sweets from Honeydukes didn't help, but Andrew decided to do something.

As he casually walked into the Great Hall, McCarthy was mocking the thought of anyone not having permission to go to Hogsmeade, and was sorely punished by Andrew's surprise.

"Serves you ri-ight," Andrew sang quietly as he pulled the pin on a Holy Hand Grenade and lobbed it towards McCarthy's gang. While it was in mid-flight, he point his wand at it, "Duplicus Maximus," he commanded, experimenting. There was an explosion of duplicates, each one zooming off in a different direction.

Sitting in the centre of the Gryffindor table, moping, Harry's head shot up when he heard several familiar chorus' of "Hallelujah!", followed by the explosions, like everyone else, he burst out laughing when he noticed that more students than he could count had their faces plastered with rubber noses and comedy glasses.

"Ah, that'll teach him to mock!" Andrew said loudly, every explosion falling short of him as every grenade landed at the edge of the room.

"Why'd you get the Gryffindors?" Ron laughed out.

"To be honest, I had no idea what would happen if I tried 'duplicus maximus'. I'll need to write to the ministry!" Andrew laughed back, glad to see a smile on Harry's face. He took the time to write a letter, detailing this dose of serendipity as it was technically new research.

They saw the others off to the Entrance Hall, Mel taking up the rear so she could watch for trouble, Jax was standing beside her and promised Andrew that he'd help keep an eye on Harry's friends.

Just then, Ginny came down the marble staircase, said her goodbyes to Ron, Hermione and Mel, and joined Andrew and Harry as they made their way up to the common room, where Colin offered them to join him and his friends.

"Thanks for the offer Colin," Harry started, glad to see that he'd toned down on the fan-boy personality.

"But we swore off any involvement in homework today," Andrew finished, eyeing the various pieces of parchment sitting on their table.

They turned and wondered out of the portrait hole again, which annoyed The Fat Lady, and wondered aimlessly.

"You know, avoiding homework? Not as easy as it sounded when I suggested it." Andrew joked.

They were just heading towards The Owlery to see Hedwig and Snowfire, Andrew thinking of sending his letter to the Ministry, when a voice called them. It was Professor Lupin, once he realised that half of their little group was in Hogsmeade, he invited the three of them in to look at the Grindylow he'd had delivered for their next lesson.

"A what?" Harry asked, they stepped into his office and looked at a water tank in the corner, inside which was a greenish creature with horns, pulling faces against the glass.

"A water demon," Ginny answered.

"Correct, Ginny," Lupin said. "He shouldn't be much trouble after the Kappas, the trick is to break his grip."

"I can imagine," Andrew blurted out. "Those fingers look like they'd snap most people like a twig."

"Yes, they're strong, but very brittle," answered Lupin, before offering them some tea, Andrew dropped one of his own mint tea bags into a cup and Lupin poured them a cup each. "I daresay you've all had enough of tea leaves."

Andrew chuckled and Ginny giggled. "McGonagall?" Harry asked.

"Yes, she told me, you're not worried are you Harry?" Lupin answered, showing his concern.

"No," Harry answered, not wanting to look like a coward, especially after the Boggart incident.

"Anything worrying you Harry?" Lupin asked, Harry lied and said 'no', before he put his teacup down and changed his mind.

"Yes, you know that day with the Boggart?"

"Yes," Lupin said slowly, putting his cup down too, Andrew and Ginny just watched.

"Why didn't you let me fight it?"

"I would have thought it obvious, Harry." Lupin answered, his eyebrows raised.

"No, it's not," Andrew answered, taking a sip of his sugared tea.

"My apologies," Lupin inclined his head. "I assumed that if the Boggart faced you, Harry, it would take the form of Lord Voldemort."

Ginny squeaked and dropped her cup, Andrew moved to catch it and regretted it "Fu-g! That's hot!" he only just managed to stop himself swearing as Ginny's tea scolded his hand and his own tea spilled into his lap.

After clearing up the mess, Lupin continued. "I imagined that people would panic if he had appeared in the room like that."

"I did think of Voldemort at first," Harry said carefully, Ginny didn't react this time. "But then I … I remembered those Dementors."

"Well then, I must say I'm impressed," Lupin said, looking Harry dead in the eye. "That suggests that what you fear most, Harry, is fear itself. Very wise, Harry."

Harry didn't answer that, he just drank some more tea.

"So I take it, you've been thinking I didn't believe you capable of fighting the Boggart?" Lupin asked.

"Well … yeah," Harry answered, lamely.

Harry was about to ask about the Dementors when there was a knock on the door. Snape came in when Lupin called, carrying a goblet that was smoking slightly. He stopped when he saw the three students there, narrowing his eyes.

"Ah, Severus," Lupin called, breaking whatever spell was over Snape. "Thanks very much. Could you leave it here on the desk for me?"

Snape placed the smoking goblet down, glancing between Lupin and the three Gryffindors. "I was just showing these three my Grindylow," Lupin explained, pleasantly, pointing at the tank.

"Fascinating," Snape dead-paned, not even bothering to look at the tank. "You should drink that directly, Lupin."

"Yes, yes, I will," answered Lupin.

"I made an entire cauldron full, if you should need more." Snape went on.

"I should probably take some again tomorrow. Thanks very much, Severus."

Lupin waited for Snape to leave before taking a sip and shuddering, he explained vaguely that he needed Snape to mix it and that he'd been a little off-colour. Harry tried to warn Lupin off drinking it, thinking to the others telepathically that Snape might have just served Lupin poison.

Lupin brushed off their worries and sent them on their way, so he could get back to work.

"There you go," Ron said as he, Hermione and Mel dumped a huge load of sweets into the laps of Harry, Andrew and Ginny.

They then spent the next half an hour telling them all about what Hogsmeade was like, the wizarding equipment shop, the joke shop, the pub.

"Hang on, how come you could get into a pub?" Andrew asked, miffed.

"It caters mostly to school students on weekends, but they serve alcohol too, just not to kids." Mel explained.

After they finished telling their stories, Andrew suspicious of Jax when Ron sniggered about them waiting outside whenever he and Hermione were inside a shop, the six of them made their way down for the feast.

While on their way down, Harry told them about Lupin drinking a potion that Snape had brewed, Ron asking if Lupin was mad. Hermione, ever the voice of reason, pointed out quietly, that if Snape was trying to poison Lupin, he wouldn't have done so with witnesses.

The feast, to be honest, was fairly uneventful, as opposed to feasts they had shared in the past. Harry kept watching Lupin and Snape but eventually left it alone and enjoyed the food. "This is great, but still doesn't hold a candle to that feast at the end of last year," Andrew laughed, remembering how some of the first-years from that year had passed out at four in the morning.

"Only because you had the entire castle to keep you company for once," Mel laughed back.

Just then the Hogwarts ghosts flew through the walls of the Great Hall and did a little formation gliding. "OK, _that's_ new," Harry thought aloud. After the gliding, Nearly-Headless Nick and the Bloody Baron performed a re-enactment of Nick's botched beheading, to great applause.

Unfortunately, the great evening was ruined. As the Gryffindors moved up to their common room, nobody was going in. The Fat Lady's portrait had been slashed, so violently that bits were littered on the floor.

Dumbledore was summoned to the scene, where he called for The Fat Lady to be found in another portrait. At that point, Peeves chose to make his presence known, saying he had already found her and gotten the whole story.

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore asked the poltergeist calmly.

"Oh, yes, Professorhead," answered Peeves. "He got angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves then grinned at Dumbledore, gleefully. "Got a nasty temper, he has, that Sirius Black."


	4. Disaster and Good Fortune

Chapter 4 – Disaster and Good Fortune

The next thing anyone knew, Dumbledore had ordered the Gryffindors back to the Great Hall, where they were joined ten minutes later by the rest of the students, who all looked confused as hell. Dumbledore explained the situation briefly, left Percy and Penelope in charge and conjured enough sleeping bags for everyone.

It didn't take long for the students to start talking about that had happened, starting with the Gryffindors telling their friends in other houses.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" shouted Percy, announcing that it was lights out in ten minutes.

Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny dragged four sleeping bags into the corner, followed by Andrew and Mel who were only carrying the one.

Around them, other students were speculating on how Black could have gotten in, but Andrew was too busy kicking himself.

"This was too close, Mel!" he hissed as she got into her bag, they had silently agreed to pull shifts and he was taking the first watch.

"Lights are going out now!" Percy shouted. "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

Penelope noticed that Andrew was pacing around his five friends in the corner, she walked over quietly. "That includes you too," she said softly, so as not to disturb anyone.

"Not happening," Andrew answered stubbornly, causing her to give him a stern look. "I know you're in charge here, and since you're probably not aware, Mel and I have been assigned as Harry's bodyguards until Black is caught."

Penelope's look softened a little. "You feel as though you failed tonight?"

"Nearly," Andrew answered, noticing over her shoulder that Jax was having a similar argument with Percy, who sent one of the ghosts off with a message. "If we'd been in Gryffindor Tower and not here..."

Penelope shuddered at the implication, on the other side of the Hall, Snape had come in and taken Jax away with him. Percy then noticed Andrew was still awake and walked over.

"I take it _you_ have some hair-brained assignment too?" he hissed. "That boy had the nerve to order me out of his way."

"He's ordered to kill Black if the opportunity presents itself, no time like a break-in." Andrew answered. "Me and Mel are to guard Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny. So we're taking shifts to watch over them."

The look on his face left no room for argument, so Percy and Penelope decided to leave this corner of the Great Hall to them.

Things remained quiet in the Great Hall, the teachers came in every hour to check how everything was going, Snape even attempted to get Andrew to give up his vigil and get some rest.

"Sod off, Snape!" he answered, his eyes bleary and his legs barely holding him up.

"You're tired, so I'll let that slide," Snape answered curtly, then amazingly he placed a hand on the young Jedi's shoulder. "You'll serve no purpose by working yourself to death."

Andrew sighed and, with great effort, he pushed Snape's hand off his shoulder and lifted his left wrist to look at his watch. "Mel's taking over in an hour, I can manage until then."

Shortly after that, McGonagall came in to see what was keeping Snape, only to have pretty much exactly the same conversation with Andrew. After that the two teachers left and the Headmaster came in, coaxing Andrew into getting some rest, by telling him that the entire castle had been searched, and there was no sign of Black.

The next thing Andrew knew, he was being rudely awoken by a furious Mel. She was angry that he hadn't woken her up for her turn at the watch.

"Dumbledore told me not to wake you," Andrew mumbled, turning over for some more sleep. "Said there was no sign of Black."

"Jax must be a little upset about that," Mel said, leaving without another word.

Andrew sat up then, having expected more of a telling off, he look at Mel as she walked over to Jax and started talking to him. "Something going on with them?" he asked.

Ron just started sniggering and Hermione elbowed him in the ribs. Later that day, everyone was moved back into their common rooms, which was then the talk started. For the next few days the only talk going about Hogwarts, was Sirius Black. Mainly theories on how he could get into the castle, each one getting wilder than the last.

What was becoming offensive to the Jedi, was how teachers seemed to find excuses to escort Harry wherever he went, Percy had taken to tailing him, on his mother's orders no doubt, and McGonagall had even called Harry to her office to 'inform' him why Black had escaped Azkaban.

She also went on to say she felt Harry training in the evenings was too risky, at which point, Andrew had had enough.

"Does nobody have any faith in me and Mel?" he exploded, having gone with Harry to McGonagall's office. "I know we screwed up on Halloween but..."

"No one is blaming yourself or Miss Jacobs, Payne," McGonagall said, cutting him off. "Black got past everyone that night. However there isn't anything wrong with increasing Potter's security."

Andrew let out a sigh. "You're right, I'm sorry Professor. I'm just so furious with myself!" he exclaimed as he slashed out and punched a wall.

"You shouldn't be, you can't be everywhere," McGonagall answered, noting how Andrew seemed to freeze at those worse. "What is it?" she asked.

"An assignment that went wrong," Andrew answered a little darkly. "The first time I ever failed. I was nine, and me and Master Cooper were assigned to assist the police in Glasgow."

"What happened?" Harry asked.

Andrew lifted his shirt to reveal a scar he sported just below his ribs. "Without going into all the gory details, we were tracking a serial rapist-murderer, had a volunteer to be bait." he explained.

"But?" McGonagall pressed. Andrew sighed, tucking his shirt back into his trousers.

"Turned out she had a twin sister," Harry instantly figured out where it was going. "Our volunteer got a phone call, found out where her sister was and me and my Master raced to her as fast as we could. I got there just in time to jump between the girl and the knife that caused this." Andrew finished, pointing to the spot the scar was located. "I woke up in hospital a few days later," he sighed again. "Soon as I was down the bastard killed the girl."

McGonagall chose not to scold the Jedi for his use of language. "No one is perfect, Payne." she said. "You did all you could."

"I could have killed him," Andrew growled darkly.

"That's not your way," she said, giving him a knowing look. "Your code tells you never to kill unless it's your only option."

Andrew agreed that she had a point, and the following training sessions took place under Madam Hooch's watchful eye. Sadly the weather only continued to get worse, but the Gryffindor team trained harder than ever, the only hiccough was that Andrew downright refused to train or play in goal this year.

"It's your show, Boss," Andrew had said to Oliver. "I'm not taking it from you." so he trained in all the other positions, occasionally going in goal, just to keep his skills sharp.

Just as they were about to start their last session before the first match, Wood passed on a bit of bad news. The Slytherin captain, Marcus Flint, had given some flimsy excuse as to why they weren't going to play the first match.

"But it's obvious why they're doing it." Wood told them, grinding his teeth angrily. "They don't want to play in this weather. Think it'll damage their chances.

Instead they were to play against Hufflepuff, who had a new Seeker and Captain, in the form of Cedric Diggory. The girls on the team giggled at the mention of him, Fred pointed out that Hufflepuff were an easy win and Wood nearly went berserk, saying they couldn't relax.

"Oliver, calm down, we'll just play the same as we always do, our _best_!" Andrew shouted, punching the air, the team cheered and Wood relaxed, a little.

If the weather was bad in training, it was horrendous on the day before the match. The wind was making windows rattle, the rain fell harder than ever, and the corridors were so dark that the teachers had to light extra torches and lamps. Most of the Slytherin team was looking smug at having managed to avoid playing. If that wasn't bad enough, Lupin had come down ill, and guess who was covering his class.

"Now, Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered so far," Snape started.

"Please sir, we've done Boggarts, Red Caps, Kappas and Grindylows," said Hermione quickly, "and we're just about to start.."

"Be quiet," Snape snapped. "I did not ask for information."

"You'll not get far in this classroom acting that way," Andrew called, coolly.

"Excuse me?" Snape asked, dangerously.

"Simply put, unlike your own class, you're _covering_ here, you're _not_ in charge."

"In that case, Mr Payne, let's pretend that you're a teacher with a little over a decade's experience. How would you proceed?" Snape asked with a sneer.

"You could do worse than to listen to Hermione, she's not only the head of this class, but she's had the best marks of any student in our year, ever since she set foot in this school." Andrew answered calmly.

"Then it's just as well that you're not teaching this class, fifteen points from Gryffindor!"

With that, Snape moved back to the desk and announced that they would be studying werewolves.

"But, sir," Hermione started, but Mel placed a hand on her shoulder, and calmly took over to keep her friend out of trouble.

"We're not supposed to do werewolves yet, Professor. We're due to start on Hinkypunks..."

"Miss Granger, Miss Jacobs," interrupted Snape with a voice of forced calm. "I believe that we have already established that _I_ am taking this lesson, no one else. Now, I am telling you all to turn to page three hundred and ninety-four." He glanced around again "All of you! _Now_!"

After everyone had sullenly turned to the page he requested, Snape continued. "Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?"

Nobody moved except Hermione, who had her hand in the air. "Anyone?" Snape asked, ignoring Hermione, smiling a twisted smile. "Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even..."

"( _Are you blind or just plain stupid?!_ )" Andrew shouted so loudly into Snape's mind that he actually staggered slightly. "( _I'm only shouting because you seem to be deaf too!_ )"

Snape glared at Andrew, who was reading from his textbook and looking innocent, he looked up and looked perplexed. "Something the matter, Professor?" he asked, innocently.

Snape glared even harder at the Jedi, before turning to Hermione and snapping at her to give the answer.

After that, Snape had them make notes, from the textbook, on werewolves. While they did that, he went around and tried to examine the work they had done under Professor Lupin, but when he got to Andrew.

"No, you can't look at the work I did with the _real_ teacher of this class!" he said loudly.

"Because you know I would find it appalling," Snape shot back.

"No, because I know you're not as good a teacher, and you find fault in perfection." Andrew responded, causing the room to rumble with sniggers. "Now if you don't mind, I have work to do and you're _breathing_ on me, EW!"

That got Andrew thrown out of the classroom. He stood, leaning against the wall, glaring at the door to the class, as Professor McGonagall came by.

"And why are you not in class, Payne?" she asked.

"I pi.." Andrew stopped short and took a breath. "I upset our good _potions_ teacher."

McGonagall sighed and shook her head, she'd heard multiple times about how Andrew and Snape had butted heads. Snape was constantly complaining about how Andrew kept trying to put him in his place, when it really should have been the other way around.

"Tell me your side," she told the Jedi, almost sounding like a mother, dealing with squabbling children.

So Andrew told her about Snape refusing to listen to anyone when they tried to tell him which topic they were on. How he ignored Hermione when she had an answer to his question, and how he was criticising the work they had done with Lupin.

"So when he got to me, I told him 'no', that he's not the real teacher, not as _good_ a teacher. Then I told him I had work to do and … I told him to stop breathing on me," Andrew finished, blushing at how childish it had been.

So his surprise, McGonagall actually giggled. "Well I won't lie, you should have just let him have his way and avoid any unpleasantness. But I agree, his head does get too big sometimes. I'll have words with Professor Dumbledore, see if this can be the _only_ class that Severus covers."

"Thank you so much!" Andrew cried, dropping to his knees and worshipping her, just as the class ended and came out, cracking up at the image of a Jedi worshipping Professor McGonagall like some sort of Goddess.

The next morning, Andrew got up earlier than normal, wanting to meditate and centre himself before the match. At about six in the morning, Harry came down from the dormitory, pushing Crookshanks with his foot.

"Morning," Andrew said calmly.

"Not surprised to see you up early," Harry answered, watching Andrew as he floated a few things around his head. "Does that ever help?"

Andrew smiled and came gently out of his meditative state. "Sometimes, if I don't get any visions."

They spent the next couple of hours, meditating. Andrew spending more of the time giving instructions to Harry. Every now and again having to leave Harry to it so he could stop Crookshanks sneaking up to the boys dormitory.

At about eight in the morning, Andrew suggested they head down for breakfast. After climbing out of the portrait hole, Sir Cadogan challenged them. He had been the only portrait to volunteer for the post after The Fat Lady was attacked.

"Stand and fight, you mangy cur!" he yelled at the boys. That was only one of the reasons the Gryffindors didn't like him, the other was that he kept changing the password at least twice a day.

Andrew growled, turned and pulled his lightsaber from his belt, igniting it. "You should pick your opponents more wisely, good Sir Knight." he said, dangerously.

Cadogan backed down fairly quickly and wished them a good day. Down in the Great Hall, they were half-way through breakfast when the rest of the Gryffindor team showed up.

"It's gonna be a tough one," Said Wood, looking at the sky on the ceiling.

"Stop worrying, Oliver," Alicia told him soothingly, "we don't mind a bit of rain."

"A _bit_?" Andrew asked, holding a hand above his eyes and squinting through the window.

After eating, and slip-sliding their way down to the stadium, the team changed into their scarlet Quidditch robes, when Wood tried and failed to speak, Andrew asked the one question that had been bothering him all morning.

"Where are you putting me, Boss?"

That helped, Andrew was to warm the bench to start off. He wanted him ready if anyone got injured during the match, and if things weren't going well on the goal scoring side, Oliver would sub one of the chasers, leaving Andrew to do his party piece.

Once outside, Andrew took the soggy bench and watched his team as they met the Hufflepuff team in the centre of the pitch. Oliver and Cedric shook hands, both teams mounted their brooms, with more than a little difficulty, and took to the skies.

Andrew watched as his team fought against the elements and the skills of the opposing team, a whole new form of trepidation coming over him as he realised the difference between a spectator and a substitute player.

He cheered with the Gryffindor fans every time Alicia, Angelina or Katie scored, not that he could tell them apart in this weather, and more so every time Oliver kept Hufflepuff from scoring. After Gryffindor scored their fifth goal, Wood called for a time-out, during which Harry pointed out that his vision was getting worse by the second.

While Hermione took Harry's glasses to place an 'Impervious' charm on them, Andrew gave Harry some guidance.

"Okay, Harry, close your eyes. Focus, listen to the Force, let _it_ be your eyes," he told Harry, waiting for a moment while Harry concentrated.

"Wow!" Harry exclaimed when the world came into, a slightly hazy, focus. "I can see you, though you're a little blurred."

Andrew whooped and slapped Harry on the shoulder. "That'll get better with practise, but congratulations, you've taken your first step into a larger world. Keep your eyes closed and tell me how many fingers I'm holding up."

Harry scrunched his eyes up a little before answering. "Four?" he was right.

"OK, between the glasses and Harry's new voodoo, the Snitch is ours!" George crowed.

The teams took to the air again and Harry now found it easier to look for the Snitch. Andrew watched Harry as he saw something, squinting against the rain, the Jedi followed his line of sight and saw … if he didn't know any better … the _same_ black dog from Mongolia Crescent.

Harry slipped a little on his broom and dived a few feet, before noticing Cedric going for the Snitch. As Harry shot after him, Andrew sensed them before he saw them, Dementors had flooded the pitch.

The crowd screamed and Andrew looked up to see Harry falling, Dumbledore slowed his descent and Andrew charged onto the pitch, partly to get the Dementors away and partly to catch his best friend. He called his lightsaber to his hand and slashed a Dementor through its neck, but the blade passed right through the cloak without doing any damage.

The Dementors seemed to take offence to being assaulted, and as one, turned on the Jedi, before a collection of silvery animal-spirits charged across the field and drove them off. Just as the last Dementor left the stadium, Harry hit the soggy, muddy ground with a slap.

Harry was ordered to be rushed to the hospital wing by Dumbledore, who looked livid. Cedric, to his credit, was pleading with Madam Hooch to reverse the outcome and call a rematch, but Wood simply admitted that Hufflepuff had won fair and square.

Harry was informed of all of this, when he woke up in the hospital wing. He was even told that Wood was still in the showers, presumingly attempting to drown himself.

"Did somebody get my Nimbus?" Harry asked, trying to get over the fact that he'd lost, for the first time.

It was at this point that Ginny broke down and cried. Mel put an arm around her, and Andrew sadly handed Harry a bag. "Well … when you fell off, it got blown away." Hermione said, hesitantly.

"And?"

Andrew couldn't look at Harry, "It hit the Whomping Willow." he said.

Harry was instantly reminded of what that tree had done to the shuttle car Andrew had stolen last year. He dreaded what he was about to see in this bag. He tipped it up on his bed, revealing what was left of his treasured broom.

"Professor Flitwick brought it up, just before you came to." Ron said, rubbing his sister's back as she cried.

"What gets me," Mel said, "is why your lightsaber didn't harm that Dementor."

"I asked Dumbledore about that, before I came up here. Turns out that conventional, or Muggle, weapons are useless against them." Andrew answered. "I could've thrown a bloody battle-axe at them and it'd have just passed through!"

At that point, Madam Pomfrey came along and made the five of them leave, so Harry could rest. He was kept in for the rest of the weekend, refusing to let anyone throw what was left of his broom away. His closest friends never left his side, except to sleep, and the Gryffindor team came back on Sunday morning, this time with Wood, who told Harry that he didn't blame the younger boy.

One night, Mel waited for the others to go before she sat back down next to Harry. "Something's troubling you." she said, it wasn't a question.

"Promise you won't laugh?" Harry asked as Andrew poked his head back in.

"Only if it's not a joke." he said, walking back in.

"Just before I fell, I saw The Grim again." Harry explained.

"I _thought_ I saw something!" Andrew half-shouted, slamming his right fist down onto his left palm. "Just before the Dementors showed up."

"That's the other thing that's bothering me, first the Grim shows up twice, and twice I nearly have a fatal accident." Harry started, referring to nearly being run over by The Knight Bus. "And now, there's the way these Dementors affect me."

"You heard screaming the first time, was it any different this time?" Mel asked softly.

Harry nodded, repeating to them the voices he heard. "You … you think it was the night your parents ..." Mel couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence.

Harry nodded again, the Jedi sighed, Andrew placing a comforting hand on Mel's shoulder. "It might be an idea to ask Professor Lupin about some extra lessons," Andrew started, when the other two looked at him he elaborated. "To learn how to defend yourself from the Dementors."

Harry agreed and said he was going to try and sleep, so the two Jedi left him alone and walked back to their common room.

Once Monday rolled around, things had gone almost back to normal, almost. McCarthy had the use of both his arms again, a fact he gleefully demonstrated as he re-enacted Harry's fall during the match, when he wasn't doing that, he was making more Dementor jibes at Harry, he stopped though when Jax decided to Force Choke him during potions. He was making Dementor impressions at Harry and Ron was about to throw something at him.

"Fifty points from Slytherin, Starr, and if you _ever_ do that again in my presence, you will be expelled!" Snape roared, shocking everyone with the fact he had taken points from his own house.

As they walked towards their Defence Against The Dark Arts class, Andrew and Ron agreed to skip the lesson if Snape was teaching it. But Hermione peeked in and confirmed that Lupin was back.

To be fair, Snape hadn't been lying when he said that Lupin had been ill, he looked pale, had bags under his eyes, like he had had flu or something. However he smiled at his assembled class and asked everyone to take their seats. This led to the first five minutes of the class being a stream of complaints about Snape.

Much to Hermione's disappointment, the essay on werewolves was cancelled. After that was settled, they finally moved onto what Snape was supposed to be teaching them, Hinkypunks. A small, one-legged creature, which looked to be made of smoke, blow and it would be gone.

"Lures travellers into bogs," Lupin said as the class took notes. "You notice the lantern dangling from his hand? It hops ahead, people follow, and..." the Hinkypunk helped Lupin finish his sentence by making a squelching sound against the glass of its tank.

As the class was leaving, Harry was about to leave, Andrew and Mel giving him pointed looks, when Lupin called him back. "I heard about the match," he said as he covered the Hinkypunk tank with a cloth, then he started loading books into his briefcase, "and I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?"

Harry almost chuckled. "That tree tore a Jedi shuttle car to shreds last year, my broomstick didn't stand a chance."

Lupin sighed, telling a story of how the tree was planted the year he had come to Hogwarts and how students would challenge each other, to see who could get the closest to it. Harry brought up the Dementors and Lupin guessed that they were the reason Harry had fallen.

"Why though?" Harry blurted out. "Why do they affect me like that? Am I just..?"

"You are _not_ weak, Harry!" Mel said, sternly.

"She's right, Harry, this has nothing to do with weakness," Lupin added sharply. "The Dementors affect you worse than others because there are true horrors in your past." Mel looked away self-consciously.

Lupin went on to tell the three teens, about how evil Dementors actually were, how they left a person with nothing but the worst experiences of their lives. "And the worst that has happened to _you_ , Harry, is enough to make anyone fall off their broom. You have nothing to feel ashamed of."

"When they get near me," Harry hesitated, staring at Lupin's desk, his voice straining, "I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum."

Mel was in tears now, her own memories taking over her mind, Andrew wrapped an arm around her shoulder while he listened to Harry and Lupin talk. Harry and Lupin continued to exchange words, mainly on Dementors and why they came to the match. Andrew shuddered when Lupin explained that the match was much like a feast to those … monsters.

" _You_ made that Dementor on the train back off," Mel pointed out, being the first of the three to come around that night.

"There are … certain defences against them," Lupin answered, hesitantly. "However the more there are, the harder it is to resist them."

"Could you teach us?" Harry asked immediately, making a note to apologise to the Jedi later, for implying that they wanted to learn too.

"I don't pretend to be an expert at fighting Dementors, Harry … quite the opposite..."

"But if the Dementors come back, we need to be able to defend ourselves," Andrew chimed in. "My lightsaber was _useless_ during the match!"

Lupin looked from one determined face to the next, before agreeing to set something up after the Holidays.

After they left the classroom, Mel suggested that she stay with Ron, Hermione and Ginny while Harry and Andrew went to practise.

Between the promise of Anti-Dementor lessons and Ravenclaw thrashing Hufflepuff, Harry's mood was soaring. Gryffindor weren't out of the running yet, but they couldn't afford to lose another match. A fact that Wood had taken to heart, as he was now training his team harder than ever, regardless of how much colder it was getting. While Harry was without a broomstick, Andrew was taking turns with him on his Nimbus Two Thousand and One.

Two weeks before the end of term, Professor Flitwick had decorated his classroom with real fairies lighting the place, and people were talking about their Holiday plans. Both the Jedi were happy to hear that Ron, Hermione and Ginny had chosen to stay for the Holidays, mainly to keep Harry company, but it helped them with their assignment at least.

Sadly, Harry's good mood was ruined, by the announcement of another Hogsmeade visit, the weekend before the Holidays. Everyone who was going, was going on about how they could get their Christmas shopping done.

This prompted Andrew into asking Professor McGonagall, if she would be kind enough to escort Harry and himself to Hogsmeade for the same purpose, but she saw through that and said that the two boys could quite easily ask Mel to do their shopping via 'that communication device of yours'.

"You tried, though, thanks." Harry said as he flicked through a borrowed copy of 'Which Broomstick', Andrew having just explained what he had tried to do.

On the morning that everyone else was heading off to the village, Harry and Andrew, having insisted that Ginny go too this time, bid their friends goodbye and made their way up the marble staircase. They were on their way to Gryffindor Tower, when Fred and George 'psst'ed' to them from behind the statue of a one-eyed, humpbacked witch.

"Okay, what're you up to and how far away should we be?" Andrew asked, pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

"You make us sound like such villains," Fred answered with mock innocence.

"Well then, how come you're not in Hogsmeade?" Harry asked, curious.

"We've come to give you a little festive cheer before we go, Harry," George answered.

"In here," Fred added, opening the door to an empty classroom. The four boys walked into the classroom and each took a desk to themselves, to sit on.

George closed the door behind him, being the last one in, and beamed at Harry and Andrew. "Bit of an early Christmas for you, well, Harry mainly."

Andrew nodded, as Fred pulled something from his cloak with a flourish and laid it out on one of the desks. It was an old, square, very worn, piece of parchment. "What's this supposed to be?" Harry asked.

"This, Harry, is the secret to our success," said George, patting the parchment fondly.

"It's hard to give it away," added Fred, "but we decided last night, your needs are greater than ours."

"Besides, we know it off by heart," said George. "We bequeath it to you. We don't need it any more."

"And what does Harry need, with an old piece of parchment?" Andrew asked, sceptically.

"An old piece of parchment!" Fred exclaimed, looking mortally offended. "Explain, George."

"Well you see, when we were in our first year, young, carefree and innocent..."

The younger boys snorted, "Yeah right!" they both said.

"..well, more innocent than we are now, we got into a spot of bother with Filch."

"On your first night I've no doubt," Andrew sniggered as they 'tagged' each other in the story-telling.

"We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor, and it upset him for some reason.." Fred explained.

"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual.." George continued.

"Detention, disembowelment?" Andrew asked.

"Yep, and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked 'Confiscated and Highly Dangerous'."

"Don't tell me," Harry said, starting to grin.

"Well, what would you have done?" asked Fred.

"I caused a diversion, in the form of another Dungbomb, Fred whipped the drawer open, and grabbed this." George finished the story, adding. "It's not as bad as it sounds, you know. We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it."

"He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it." Fred added.

"And you know how to work it?" Harry and Andrew asked together.

"Oh yes," the twins said with a smirk. Fred continued, "this little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."

"This is a wind-up right?" Harry asked.

"Oh no, Harry," George answered, taking out his wand, he touched the tip to the parchment and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." the effect was instantaneous.

Thin ink lines began to spread over the parchment, like a spreading spiderweb, from the point where George's wand touched. They joined, criss-crossed, fanned into every corner of the parchment. Then words formed at the top of the page, proclaiming; "Messers Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers, are proud to present 'The Marauder's Map'"

Not only did this map show every inch of Hogwarts, but it also showed the people in it, in the form of labelled black dots that were moving about. The twins then explained how it worked, and what it showed, like the secret passageways, where the teachers and prefects were patrolling at night, the passwords needed to get into passageways, literally everything.

They also told them which of the secret passageways were safe to use, Filch knew of four of them, one had caved in, another was under the Whomping Willow, Harry winced at the mention of that tree, but the last one, led right to the cellar of Honeydukes, and the entrance was inside the statue of the humpbacked witch, outside the classroom they were in.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs," sighed George, patting the names at the top of the map. "We owe them so much."

"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers." added Fred solemnly.

"Right," said George briskly, "don't forget to wipe it after you've used it.."

"..or anyone can read it," added Fred warningly.

"Just tap it again and say, 'Mischief managed!' and it'll go blank." finished George.

"Now, we figured that you two wouldn't be as good as us, at sneaking around," Fred said, reaching into his robes again.

"So when Ginny told us, about you setting fire to your permission slip," George added, turning to the Jedi. "Mark of a true friend that."

"We wrote to Jarod, told him some silly story about how we trashed it." continued Fred, handing Andrew a piece of paper.

"We asked him to send it to us, so we could return it to you." finished George.

"Great, you can tell McGonagall I insisted you go, 'I'll be safe in Hogwarts for a few hours'," Harry suggested.

"That was so convincing I almost believed it myself!" laughed Fred.

Andrew took the permission slip, not liking where this was going, but positive that Harry would go, with or without him.

"So, boys," said Fred, doing a rather good impersonation of Percy, "mind you behave yourselves."

"See you in Honeydukes." added George with a wink.

Harry and Andrew stared at each other, then Harry told Andrew where to find McGonagall and wiped the map, and Andrew ran to find her.

After explaining the story that they had agreed on, McGonagall took the slip and escorted him to the Entrance Hall, where she told Filch to add Andrew's name to the list.

He all but ran down to the village, reaching out with his senses to find his friends, who by luck were in Honeydukes. When he found them, they were shocked and annoyed.

"What're _you_ doing here!" Jax snapped, quickly retracting his arm from behind Mel, he was about to wrap it around her waist.

"What about Harry?" added Mel, amazed that Andrew would abandon his post.

"I'll explain later, promise." Andrew said quickly, brushing past them both and into the shop, where he bumped into Ginny.

"Why are you here? What about Harry?" she asked, Andrew quickly guided her back to Ron and Hermione, just as Harry crept up behind them in his invisibility cloak.

After briefly telling them about the map, Ron and Ginny being upset that it wasn't given to them and Hermione insisting that it be handed in, which caused a short but heated discussion, they agreed to, quietly, enjoy Harry's new-found freedom.

Ron quickly showed Harry around the shop, Andrew calmed Hermione down, stating that if Black turned up, a) he'd never see anyone specific in the crowd and b) nobody could see Harry while he was wearing his cloak.

Once they were finished in the sweet shop, they stepped outside, Andrew quietly explaining everything to Mel and Jax, and Jax promising not to report Harry, but only when Mel asked him not to.

"This place is _gorgeous_!" Andrew exclaimed, wishing he had a camera. The others showed Andrew around, pointing out things like the post office, the joke shop, everything that they had only told Harry and Andrew about after the last visit.

Hermione nearly suggested visiting the Shrieking Shack, but Ron suggested a Butterbeer to warm themselves up with, so they went to The Three Broomsticks. They stepped inside and instantly relaxed in the warmth, Ron went to the bar to order drinks, Mel and Jax following.

They were looking around for somewhere to sit when they noticed Malfoy, sitting by himself in the corner, they took a nearby empty booth, Harry sitting in against the wall, and Jax excused himself to join his friend.

Just as the six of them were tucking into their Butterbeers, McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid and Fudge walked into the pub, Ron pushed Harry under the table with his drink, just in case, and Hermione used her wand to move a Christmas tree over to block them from view.

Andrew, however, was half-way out of his seat when Mel grabbed him and pulled him back. "I know you're pissed off at him, but it's not worth it." she said. Andrew gaped at her.

"Since when do you swear?" he asked.

She blushed and said something about hanging out with Jax a little too much.

Just then, Madam Rosmerta came along with drinks for the teachers and minister, who were sat at the table next to them. The six students listened in as surreptitiously as possible, the tree helping, as the adults talked about Black, McGonagall telling Hagrid off for telling people what had happened on Halloween.

While they listened in, Rosmerta complained about the Dementors killing her business, McGonagall and Flitwick backed Dumbledore on not allowing Dementors on the school grounds, and Fudge brought up the worst thing that Sirius Black had done, worse than killing thirteen people with a single curse.

"You say you remember Black, when he was at Hogwarts, Rosmerta," murmured McGonagall. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"

"Naturally," said Madam Rosmerta with a giggle. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here … ooh they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

Mel gasped and Harry dropped his tankard with a clunk. The adults carried on talking about Black and Harry's Dad, making them sound like the Weasley twins, Hagrid even compared the duos to each other.

But then Fudge dropped the bombshell, Black had been James' best man, he was Harry's Godfather, and when Dumbledore had found out that Voldemort was after the Potters, he had sent them into hiding. James had trusted Black so much, that he'd made him the Secret Keeper, so by magic, nobody but Black could tell anyone where the Potters were hiding.

Black had betrayed Harry's parents to Lord Voldemort, he was the reason they were dead. It was after that fateful night, that he had been hunted down by James and Black's friend, Peter Pettigrew, and that's where he pulled the stunt everyone knew about, the thirteen deaths with one curse.

Pettigrew received an Order of Merlin, First Class, and his mother was sent all they could find of her son, his finger. After that, Fudge went on to tell of how 'sane' Black appeared to be on his last visit to the prison, when all the other inmates of Azkaban just muttered to themselves, he had seemed bored when he spoke to Fudge.

"But what do you think he's broken out to do?" asked Rosmerta. "Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?"

"I daresay that is his – er – eventual plan," Fudge answered evasively. "But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing … but give him back his most devoted servant.." a few of the Gryffindors shuddered at that thought, then McGonagall announced that they needed to get back up to the school for dinner.

"Time to go I think," Andrew said quietly, they silently agreed and Andrew ran over to Honeydukes with Harry, claiming he was craving something with caramel.

When Andrew later met Harry, as he climbed out of the statue, he could sense his friend's turmoil. "I'm sorry, Harry," he said as Harry removed his invisibility cloak, "I wish I had answers for you."

"It's okay," Harry responded quietly. He stayed quiet all through dinner, nobody daring to bring up what they had overheard since they were sitting close to Percy, afterwards, Harry didn't linger in the common room and went straight up to his dormitory.

Deciding to give him some space, his friends sat by the fire, staring mutely into the flames. "Poor Harry," Ginny sighed, everyone agreeing with her.

"I can't just sit here," Ron said shortly after, getting up, he too ascended the stairs to their room.

"I think I'm going to turn in," said Hermione, heading up the opposite staircase, Ginny and Mel following. With nothing better to do, Andrew went to bed too, he walked into the dormitory to find Ron looking sadly at the closed curtains of Harry's bed.

They shrugged at each other and turned in for the night. All night long, Andrew was silently cursing his senses, as he could feel Harry's hatred coursing through him. Eventually exhaustion forced the Jedi to sleep, but he resolved to spend some time with Harry over the Holidays, training him some more, so that he wouldn't act on his hatred, and turn to the Dark Side.

Harry didn't come down from his bed until nearly lunchtime the next day, he asked where everyone was, and Ron reminded him that they had all gone home that morning.

"It is so weird to see this place so empty," Mel commented, given that she and Andrew had never stayed at Hogwarts during the Christmas holidays.

"You really don't look well, Harry," Hermione said, looking worried.

"I'm fine," Harry growled, making the others worry, Andrew had already told them what he had sensed the night before.

"Listen, Harry," Mel started, looking at Andrew, "I know you're upset about what we heard yesterday.."

"And it's perfectly natural to want revenge," Andrew continued. "But believe me, you _can't_ act on it."

Harry glared at his friends, quickly realising they had rehearsed this conversation.

"If you do, you might as well get a spare crystal from Jax," Mel finished.

"You think I'd do something that stupid?" Harry almost snapped.

"You've been thinking about it," Ginny chimed in, " _loudly_ too."

Harry sighed, leaning on his knees and staring at the floor. "Do you know what I hear, what I _see_ when Dementors get near me?" he asked, Ron, Hermione and Ginny shook their heads. "I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with Voldemort, just before he murdered her."

Hermione and put one hand to her mouth, and the other over her heart, while Ginny looked like she might cry. "Black's the reason I have those memories in the first place, Azkaban is no punishment for him, you heard Fudge. He needs to pay!"

"And if Jax gets his way, he will," Mel said.

"For once I'm all for Jax killing someone, leave the killing to the trained assassin, Harry," Andrew said, trying to calm Harry down, "keep _your_ hands and soul clean."

"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering," Mel explained. "It's natural to have those feelings, we're only human. But if you act on any of them, you could be lost to the Dark Side."

"Fear keeps you from stepping out into traffic." Andrew took over, reciting the lessons his mentor had taught him. "And sometimes something will happen that makes you angry, like," he paused, trying to pick an adequate example, "when you hear about a politician embezzling government funds. That's robbing everyone you know all at the same time really."

"And right now, you hate Black," Mel continued, "like you said, he's the reason you suffer so much from the Dementors, why you're an orphan, you wouldn't be human if you didn't at least resent him for that."

"But, just an example, if you ever killed someone out of fear, anger or hatred, then you'll be a slave to the Dark Side, and it's not worth it … your parents will _still_ be gone." Hermione finished.

Harry nodded and took a deep, shuddering breath, and looked around for something to do to take his mind off Black, which wasn't easy. "We haven't been to see Hagrid in a while," Harry said thoughtfully.

"I like your way of thinking, let's go," Andrew yelled as he jumped to his feet.

Hermione didn't like the idea of leaving the castle, but Andrew and Mel insisted they'd keep their eyes peeled.

So they all grabbed their cloaks and slowly made their way, through hip-deep snow, to Hagrid's snow-capped hut. When they got there, they could hear a soft moaning, so they all raised a fist and thumped on the door. Hagrid opened the door, and it was immediately obvious that he was crying.

"Yeh've heard!" he bellowed as he all but fell onto them, pulling all six of them into a soaking wet hug. The Jedi doing most of the work, they lifted Hagrid back to his feet and steered him into a chair. Hagrid had received a letter from the school governors, stating that Hagrid was not being blamed for the incident involving Buckbeak. However, due to an official complaint from Lucius Malfoy, the matter of Buckbeak was being taken over by the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, there was to be a hearing near the end of April. In the meantime, Buckbeak was to be kept tethered and isolated.

"April 20th?" Mel asked, looking at Andrew. "Think we should go see Dumbledore?"

"To ask permission to attend the hearing?" Andrew responded, liking the idea.

"What about your assignment?" Ginny asked, the Jedi nodded, in that way people do when someone has a good point.

"Well, as long as Harry stays here with one of us to guard him, there's no reason why the rest of us can't go." Ron reasoned.

Hagrid howled and launched himself at the Gryffindors, pulling them all into bone-crushing hugs. Mel used the sleeve of her tunic to dab at Hagrid's eyes, Ron made tea and eventually, Hagrid calmed down enough to thank them verbally.

"Yer right. I can' afford to go ter pieces. Gotta pull meself together..." Hagrid said, drinking his tea.

"So, assignments," Andrew started, rubbing his hands together. "Hermione, research, you're the best at it, Ron and Ginny, get started writing a statement, just in case we're refused entry, Harry, the two of us will do that anyway; we're not going."

"I'm on escort duty," Mel supplied, "and Hagrid, keep your head and I'll help you prepare to take the stand."

With their plans laid out, Hagrid apologised for not being himself. Pointing out that nobody was enjoying his classes, he had to walk past the Dementors whenever he wanted a drink at The Three Broomsticks, and how doing so made him feel like he was back at Azkaban.

Hermione asked what it was like, and Hagrid told her all about it, reminding the two Jedi of the warnings they had just given Harry about falling to the Dark Side.

"Well, you're free now, your name's clear, and you're never going back!" Andrew said, patting Hagrid on the back.

The trip to Hagrid's hadn't been as fun as they hoped, but it got Harry's mind off Black, they quickly split up. Andrew, Ron and Ginny to Dumbledore's office, Harry, Mel and Hermione to the library.

When Andrew's group got to the gargoyle which guarded Dumbledore's office, they hit a snag. "Um, something tells me that the password has changed."

"Harry's map would come in handy here," Ginny pointed out. Andrew nodded and thought of calling Dumbledore with the Hovercam, but then he remembered he had left the device in his trunk that morning.

Just as he was thinking this, the gargoyle leapt to one side and the wall opened, to reveal Professor Flitwick coming out.

"Oh, good morning children, what brings you this way?" he asked in his squeaky voice.

"We just heard about some bad news, for Hagrid," Ginny answered.

"Needed to ask for the Headmaster's permission to attend Buckbeak's hearing," Andrew added.

"Ah, I see, well go right ahead, the Headmaster is a little busy, but he might be able to spare a few minutes." Flitwick walked away, leaving the wall open for the three third-years. They stepped onto the moving staircase and it changed direction for them.

Ron knocked on the door when they got to the top of the stairs, and a slightly curious "Enter?" was the response. The three of them stepped inside and the Jedi bowed to the Headmaster. "Good morning," Dumbledore greeted pleasantly. "How can I help you three?"

"We've just come from Hagrid's," Andrew explained, straightening up.

"Ah, you wish to assist him with Buckbeak's hearing." Dumbledore stated, they all nodded.

"Would it be possible for Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Mel to attend as witnesses?" Andrew asked, Ginny added that the others were in the library, researching cases.

"I would gladly grant permission," Dumbledore began sadly. "However, Ministry hearings do not permit the presence of minors, unless they themselves are the subject of the hearing."

"Good thing we're planning on writing statements then." Ron blurted out.

"Good thinking," answered Dumbledore, "if you supply me with them, I shall gladly read them out at the hearing. Hagrid is as yet unaware, but I intend to attend as a character witness."

Andrew nodded, but then a sly grin crossed his face as an idea came to him. He muttered a little to himself, "Could work … plenty of time ..." before he spoke up. "Professor? How would you feel about taking some Polyjuice potion?"

Once he caught on, Dumbledore laughed. "Oh yes, an excellent idea, you could be at the hearing, without being there!"

"Okay, I'm lost," Ron said loudly.

"Simple, Professor Dumbledore asks Professor Snape to whip up a batch of Polyjuice potion, the six of us provide some hair and the Headmaster reads out our witness statements, as _us_!" Andrew explained.

Ginny giggled. "That's hilarious!"

Dumbledore agreed to make the request of the Potions Master and sent the three of them on their way. They quickly made their way to the library to meet their friends, who told them what they had found so far.

"I found one Hippogriff case from 1722, but that one was," Hermione shuddered, "executed."

"And I found a Manticore that was let off in 1296 … because nobody wanted to go near it," Mel added.

"Okay, _that_ one doesn't help," Andrew said to Mel.

Ginny told Harry, Hermione and Mel the bad news from Dumbledore, and Ron told them of Andrew's suggestion to the Headmaster. After they finished laughing at the idea of Dumbledore turning into each of them in a crowded courtroom, they took a break from the case research and got on with writing their statements.

What was surprising the Jedi, was how the castle was being decorated for Christmas, even though there weren't that many people staying this year. Harry told them that the thick streamers of holly and mistletoe were there each year, there were lights shining inside the suits of armour, the Great Hall was filled with twelve heavily decorated Christmas trees, and the smell of cooking food was slowly filling the castle, causing even Scabbers to poke his head from Ron's pocket and sniff the air.

On Christmas morning, Harry was woken by Ron throwing a pillow at him, and he woke Andrew up the same way.

"Oi! Presents!" Ron shouted.

Andrew got up and dug through his gifts, his parents had sent him a couple of things which would be useless at Hogwarts, mainly because there were no games consoles or televisions there, but the nicest gift he received was a collection of posters from his younger siblings, his sister had sent him a bunch of posters from Anime shows and his brother had sent him the poster of all six Star Wars movies. That and his older sisters had sent him a bag full of cards, at which he smiled.

"Oh _very_ funny," Andrew growled as he showed his room mates.

Ron handed out the gifts from his parents, turned out Mrs Weasley still made the traditional jumpers, which they all wore with pride, and somebody sent Harry an unmarked gift.

Harry was about to unwrap it when it flew out of his hand and into Andrew's. "I'm sorry, Harry, but I'm not taking chances!" Andrew said, in a tone that left no room for arguments, he placed the gift on the window sill and told his friends to take cover. The Jedi crouched behind his own bed and used the Force to unwrap the gift from a distance, revealing…

"A Firebolt?!" Ron and Harry exclaimed.

Ron darted over and started fawning over the broomstick, Harry followed slowly, watching Andrew's suspicious expression. Just then, the girls walked in, Hermione and Mel carrying their cats, Midnight curled up on Dean's bed and snoozed, while Crookshanks stood on Seamus' bed and stared at Ron's pocket, where he'd just stuffed Scabbers.

"Oh, Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, noticing the Firebolt. "Who sent you _that_?"

"No idea," Harry answered. "There wasn't a card of anything with it." As Harry said that, Ron cried out as the broom shot off the window sill and into Andrew's hand for the second time.

"Which is why I'm taking this straight to McGonagall," he said, Ron gaped at him. "Think about it, nobody checks our gifts before we get them, and who do we know who'd love to see Harry fall off another broomstick?"

"He's right, Ron," said Mel apologetically. "It might have been sent by Black."

Andrew started walking to the door. "Listen, I'll tell her my suspicions and leave her to test it out, if it's clean, I'm sure you'll get it back, sound fair?"

Harry nodded, seeing the sense in it, but Ron was fuming as Andrew left the room. When he got back to the common room, Ron and Hermione were refusing to look at each other, Ginny explained quietly that Crookshanks had tried to eat Scabbers again, and this time Ron had made to kick Hermione's cat.

"Come on guys, put it to one side, it's Christmas!" Andrew said, trying to be jolly. Ron just turned his glare on Andrew.

"And you've taken Harry's best gift away, it's great." he growled, causing everyone else to sigh.

"What did McGonagall say?" Harry asked, noting that Andrew no longer had his broom.

"She's going to pass it on to Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick for testing, hopefully we'll get it back before our next match, _if_ it's jinx free." Andrew explained.

"There was _nothing_ wrong with it!" Ron yelled.

"And you know this, _how_?" Mel asked, quickly losing patience with Ron's attitude.

Before he could answer, Ginny stomped her foot and stormed out, Harry following her to make sure she was alright. Andrew sighed again. "Ron, let's just drop it, okay? Surely it's better to make sure, than watch Harry get killed."

Ron crossed his arms and glared at the Jedi and Hermione, before sighing and admitting that they were all right.

They killed time until lunch with a few rounds of Exploding Snap, Harry brought Ginny back after she had had time to cool off, she had been furious with Ron's behaviour when she stormed out.

"Well, we've enough players now, so I could suggest a muggle game, but I've _just_ decided it'll make an entertaining game at lunch." Andrew announced, before quickly darting upstairs to get the bag of cards.

The six of them made their way down to lunch, where all the house tables had been moved again, a single table sat in the centre of the Great hall, with enough seats for sixteen people. Sitting around the table already were Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout and Flitwick, along with Filch, wearing a mouldy looking tail coat, and three other students. Two first-years, one from Ravenclaw and one from Hufflepuff, and a Slytherin fifth-year.

"Merry Christmas!" Dumbledore called as the six Gryffindors entered, he explained that since there were so few of them this year, he thought they would share one table for once.

"So, this isn't normal?" Andrew asked, sitting down and setting his bag next to his foot.

"Obviously," Snape drawled, clearly not happy with this set up. Just then the last place at the table was explained, by Jax walking in and sitting down, next to Mel.

"What's with the bag, Payne?" Jax asked.

"It's a surprise for later," Andrew answered with a grin. "After we've finished eating I think."

"It's good to see you stayed too," Mel said, smiling to the Sith, who almost smiled back, instead he just frowned a little less.

"Mission's not over, so I stay," he said simply.

"Crackers!" Dumbledore cried enthusiastically, offering the other end of a silver cracker to Snape, who pulled it reluctantly.

It went off with the sound of a gun shot and flew apart to reveal a large, pointed witches hat, with a stuffed vulture on top. Snape looked livid as the students fought hard not to snigger, all of them reminded of Neville's Boggart. With a grunt, Snape shoved the hat towards Dumbledore, who eagerly pulled off his own hat and placed the vulture hat on his head.

"Tuck in!" Dumbledore advised the table, beaming.

As they started to do just that, the doors to the Great Hall opened again, to reveal Professor Trelawney, who said she had been crystal-gazing, and saw herself coming down for dinner.

Dumbledore drew her a chair, literally, and Trelawney took her place between Professors Snape and McGonagall.

"So where are the other Professors?" Mel asked.

"Well Professor Lupin, sadly has fallen ill once again," answered Professor Dumbledore, to which Trelawney hinted that he was nearing the end of his life, much to McGonagall's annoyance. "Professor Sinistra had chosen to spend Christmas at the Jedi Temple, I understand she is becoming rather attached to Master Cooper."

At this, the Gryffindors sniggered a little, just then, an ebony-feathered owl soared through the high window and dropped a letter into Andrew's lap. Andrew opened it and started reading. "Oh, speak of the devil, this _is_ from Master Cooper."

He read the letter quietly, before jumping to his feet and knocking his chair over. "NO WAY!" he cried.

"What?" asked Harry.

"Master Cooper's proposed to Professor Sinistra!" Andrew exclaimed, staring at the letter in amazement.

There was silence around the table, before McGonagall broke it by saying, "And?"

"Oh, she said 'yes'!" some of those at the table cheered, the exceptions being the first-years, the Slytherins and Snape.

"Well that certainly is good news, have they set a date for their wedding?" Flitwick squeaked.

"Nothing concrete yet, but they're hoping for sometime next December, 'Aurora said she's always wanted to be married while standing in the snow'" Andrew read from the letter. After that little bit of excitement, Andrew picked his chair back up and they got on with their meal.

While they were eating, Mel asked Andrew what was in his bag. "Oh, alright, this _was_ meant to be a surprise, but who would like to learn 'Magic'?" he answered, everyone looked at him like he had gone nuts, so he made some space on the table and placed the bag there.

"'Magic: The Gathering'," he explained, unzipping the bag and pulling out a box, which he opened to reveal a deck of cards, "is a Muggle card game, you play the part of a 'Planeswalker' who travels the 'Multiverse' to challenge other Planeswalkers."

"Most intriguing," said Dumbledore, accepting a deckbox from Andrew, who went on.

"It's all fantasy really, revolving around Giants, Goblins, Angels, Dragons, Orcs and all sorts." Said Hermione, Andrew looked at her questioningly. "I've never played it, but I've seen them on sale in shops."

"Well, there are five main colours to Magic, white, black, blue, red and green." Andrew explained, pointing out the design on the back of each card. "White is mainly Angels and Knights, but also revolves around gaining life."

"Black is Vampires and other dark creatures," Hermione supplied. "Blue is magic of the mind. Green is mainly elves or large creatures."

"And Red is basically burning magic." Andrew finished.

They all selected a deck and had a few games, Andrew wining the first couple of times with a very complex deck, just so he could explain as much of the game as possible. After that he switched to something else, and pretty much everyone ganged up on him.

With only one card in his hand, and two creatures protecting him, Andrew frowned. Nobody wanted to attack him at the moment because both the creatures were dangerous, he drew a card at the start of his turn and grinned.

"Oh no, you've just gotten a card that's gonna make you win!" Ron complained.

"Perhaps," Andrew answered, he rotated three 'land' cards. "I pay one of any colour and two black, and I play 'Eviscerate: destroy target creature.' Destroy one of my Havoc Demons, all creatures get minus five-minus five until end of turn." the others groaned as most of the creatures on the table went to graves. " _This_ in turn, kills my _other_ Havoc Demon!"

The others gaped at him, he had just killed every creature in play. "And I'm not done yet," Andrew then rotated eight cards. "Six of any colour and two green, 'Biorhythm: Each player's life total becomes equal to the number of creatures he or she controls.'" he read out with a smirk.

Jax slammed his head onto the table. "I do believe that makes us all dead," Dumbledore announced with a smile.

"Just because I _can't_ win, doesn't mean anyone else is _allowed_ to," Andrew said smugly.

They all laughed at this, the bell tower let out a booming bell toll, and Dumbledore checked his pocket watch. "God gracious, it's five o'clock in the evening!" he announced.

So they put away the cards and had dinner served. Harry and Ron bringing up Harry's new broomstick, Flitwick was happy to explain the tests that would be performed on it and how the broomstick would remain unharmed.

"We should be done with it in a fortnight or so," he said with a hiccough, having just had a sip of his sherry.

Afterwards, the Gryffindors made their way up to the common room, had another game of Magic, and went to bed.


	5. Patronus, Quidditch and a Grudge

Chapter 5 – Patronus, Quidditch and a Grudge.

The rest of the Christmas holiday was fairly quiet, Hermione spending most of her time in the library with Mel, researching cases for Buckbeak, the others writing out their witness statements for the hearing.

"Think we could just get Jax to 'take care' of McCarthy?" Ron asked, Ginny and Andrew frowned at his implication, but Harry grinned.

"We probably couldn't afford his 'services'" he answered.

The night before term started again, the common room was crowded again, Wood came looking for Harry, asking if he had had a good Christmas, then asked if Harry could do anything regarding his reaction to the Dementors.

"I'm working on it," Harry answered. "Professor Lupin said he'd train me to ward them off. We should be starting this week."

"That's great, I _really_ don't want to lose you as a Seeker, Harry. Any news on a new broom?" Wood asked. Harry explained that he'd been given a Firebolt for Christmas, which made Oliver ecstatic, until Harry adding that Andrew had taken it to McGonagall.

"What the hell for?" Wood exploded, jumping to his feet.

"Just to be safe, Oliver," Andrew answered calmly, explaining about Black being after Harry and the chance that he had sent the broom. "Black's on the run, Payne, how could he have gone into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?"

"You make a fair point," Andrew conceded with a shrug. "But as Harry's bodyguard, I'm taking no chances, McGonagall and Flitwick think they'll have it returned to us in time for the next match."

"Still, I'll go talk to McGonagall, see if I can get it back now, you'll need some time to train on it before our match against Ravenclaw." Oliver said, making to move over to the portrait hole.

"Harry could always use my Nimbus Two Thousand and One," Andrew called, since that's what they had been doing in training.

"I'm going to need you _both_ against Ravenclaw, we need as many points as possible." Wood said, looking at Andrew over his shoulder.

Andrew chuckled. "'Shoot like crazy'?" he asked, Harry laughed and Oliver just walked away.

The next morning, as the boys entered the Great Hall, Andrew noticed Professor Sinistra. She was showing her engagement ring to Professor Sprout, who was examining it through a jewellers eye glass. Andrew smiled and made a beeline for her.

"Good Morning, Professor," he greeted. "I believe congratulations are in order?"

The soon to be 'Mrs Cooper' blushed a little, Professor Sprout released her hand, taking out the eye glass, so she could show Andrew the ring. It was a simple silver band, with, strangely enough, an emerald instead of a diamond.

"From Master Cooper's first blade, yes?" Andrew asked.

"Yes it is, how did you know?" Aurora asked in return.

"Jedi tradition, since it's so rare for a Jedi to _never_ replace a lightsaber, they use a cutting of their first lightsaber's gem for an engagement, which they make themselves. In one proposal, the Jedi in question actually had to make a new blade." Andrew explained with a laugh. "You should ask him what happened to his first blade, _always_ an embarrassing tale."

"So what happened to yours?" Professor Sprout asked, not missing a beat.

Andrew blushed. "I'm technically on my third," he said, causing the ladies to giggle. "But nothing happened to my second one!" he said defensively. "I just built a new one during my first year here," he took his lightsaber from his belt and pointed out where his wand was inserted, so that he could channel magic through it.

"My second one is still safe, I keep it in my trunk upstairs." he added.

"You didn't answer my question though," said Sprout.

"Well … my first one … I'm not sure I remember," Andrew lied.

"Codswallop!" chuckled Professor Sprout. "I happen to know for a _fact_ that you've never forgotten a thing in your life, so come up, come clean."

Andrew mumbled something as he stared at the floor and his cheeks burned red.

"I'm sorry?" asked Aurora.

"It got run over by a tank," Andrew said, ashamed.

"What on earth were you doing near a tank?" Sinistra asked, shocked.

"Long story, but the good news is, the sapphire doesn't need cutting ... much." Andrew laughed, then excused himself to go and eat.

The first lesson of the day was expected to be a freezing one, as they had Care of Magical Creatures, but Hagrid surprised everyone, by giving a lesson on Salamanders, lizards which lived in fires and sometimes molten lava. The class spent a thoroughly enjoyable lesson, collecting firewood to keep the Salamanders happy.

Between trips to get more wood, Hagrid lectured on the facts of Salamanders and the class took notes.

Divination was becoming less of a lesson, and more of a chore. Professor Trelawney had moved the class on to Palmistry, losing no time in informing the class that Harry had the shortest lifelines she'd ever seen, before telling Andrew and Mel that theirs weren't much better.

"No shocks there, we're Jedi," answered Mel scathingly. "We go into war zones for a living and spend our spare time acting as human shields!"

It was Defence Against the Dark Arts that Harry and his friends were most keen to get back to, Harry lost no time in reminding Lupin about Anti-Dementor lessons, and Lupin said to meet him at eight o'clock on Thursday evening in the History of Magic classroom.

"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" Ron said as they walked away from his class, Hermione stopped at the foot of a suit of armour ahead of them, trying to repack her bag.

"What do you suppose is wrong with him?" Ginny asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione asked, hoisting her bag back to her shoulder.

"I've got my suspicions, but I don't want to voice them in case I'm wrong." Andrew answered.

"Why?" asked Ron.

"Because in our experience," Mel began, "people have a tendency to be _extremely_ prejudice, if they're given a reason to be."

"Let's just say that Snape was more than happy, to give us a hint when he covered that first lesson, and leave it at that." Andrew added, Hermione nodding as they continued to their next class.

On Thursday evening, Harry and Andrew made their way down to the History of Magic classroom, it was empty when they got there, so Andrew had Harry practise with the Force a little, by lighting the lamps from his spot just inside the door. Slightly sweaty from the exertion, Harry finished just as Lupin arrived.

He was carrying a large packing case, which he heaved onto Professor Binn's desk. "What's that?" Harry asked.

"Another Boggart," Lupin answered, taking off his cloak. "I've been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr Filch's filing cabinet."

"Couldn't you have left it there?" Andrew blurted out, making Harry and Lupin laugh.

Still chuckling, Lupin continued. "Well, this is the nearest we'll find to a _real_ Dementor. Since Dementors are Harry's greatest fear, the Boggart will turn into one when he sees him, meaning we'll be able to practise on him rather than a real Dementor. I can store him in my office when we're not using him; there's a cupboard under my desk that I think he'll like."

The Jedi nodded, pulling out his wand, as did Lupin and Harry. "The spell I'm going to try and teach you both is highly advanced magic, _well_ beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It's called the Patronus Charm."

"How does it work?" Harry asked, his voice wavering a little.

"Well, when it works correctly, it conjures up a Patronus, which is a kind of Anti-Dementor," explained Lupin, "a guardian which acts as a shield between you and the Dementor."

"What does one look like?" Andrew asked.

"That differs from castor to castor," Lupin answered. "Professor Dumbledore, for instance, conjures a Phoenix Patronus."

Andrew's mind was suddenly flooded by the image the Hufflepuff match, and Dumbledore shooting what must have been a Patronus at the Dementors. He also imagined himself conjuring a Patronus, his mind made it take the form of a Siberian Husky.

"Is it a conscious choice?" Andrew asked.

"The form of the Patronus? No, I don't believe it is, rather in the same fashion that a wizard doesn't choose which form he will take in order to become an Animagus." Lupin answered.

The boys nodded and Lupin continued. "The Patronus, is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon – hope, happiness, the desire to survive – but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so Dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you both, that this Charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it."

"You miss every shot you never take." Harry responded, taking the words right out of Andrew's mouth.

"Exactly, we'll never know if we don't try." Andrew added.

"In that case," said Lupin, smiling, "you'll need to know the incantation, which, by the way, only works if your are concentrating, with all your might, on the single, most happy memory you have."

He gave them both a moment to think of something, Andrew quickly recalled reading the letter he got from his Master over Christmas, saying he was going to be married.

"Right," Harry said, Andrew nodding to say he was ready too.

"The incantation is this," Lupin cleared his throat, "expecto patronum!"

The boys repeated the incantation. "Concentrating hard on your memory?" Lupin asked them. They nodded, still repeating the incantation, their wands let out a wisp of silvery gas, which made Harry extremely happy, and left Lupin rather impressed.

"Can I try something before we continue?" Andrew asked, pulling his lightsaber from his belt, sliding his wand inside. Lupin nodded and Andrew focused, holding the hilt in his left hand and hovering his right over the ignition point, where the blade would ignite from. He normally did this when trying a new spell through his weapon. "Expecto … Patronum!" he shouted, flinging his entire right arm outward, as his lightsaber ignited into a pure white blade.

"Very good," said Lupin, impressed. "Right then, ready to try it on a Dementor?"

They both nodded, Andrew getting into position behind Harry, after deactivating his lightsaber and retrieving his wand, they both stood ready.

Lupin grasped the lid of the case and pulled, a Dementor rose slowly from the box, it looked at Harry and he tried the Charm, but instead he fainted and Andrew stepped in, the Charm only made silvery mist, which seemed to be useless at Andrew's distance. With no other option, Andrew switched to his lightsaber, creating a Patronus blade, leapt forward and plunged his saber into the Dementor's belly, the Boggart lost its form and retreated back into the case. He was a little disturbed to suddenly find himself remembering his duel to the death with Mel in the Chamber.

Lupin went around, relighting the lamps which had gone out when the Dementor showed up, he then tried to wake Harry, who jerked awake and sat up, coated in a cold sweat. "Sorry," he muttered as Lupin and Andrew helped him to his feet.

"Are you alright?" Lupin asked.

"Yeah," Harry answered, leaning against a desk as Lupin handed out Chocolate Frogs.

"Eat these before we try again," he told them. "I didn't expect you to get it the first time. In fact, I would have been astounded."

"I wouldn't count the lightsaber version though," Andrew said, perching on a desk as he ate his Frog. "It's not exactly magic, more like … channelling spells, like I'm using my saber as a conduit."

"It's getting worse," Harry muttered, biting his Frog's head off. "I could hear her louder that time – and him – Voldemort –"

Lupin looked paler than usual. "Harry, if you don't want to continue..." he started.

"I do," Harry interjected, stating his main concern was the upcoming Ravenclaw match. Lupin agreed to continue and advised that they both find a stronger memory to focus on. When they said they were ready, they had another go, Harry fainted again and Andrew fell to his knees, seeing visions of Mel attacking him and Jax.

Lupin forced the Boggart back into the case this time, and when they brought Harry around, he said that he heard his father's voice for the first time in his life, tears leaking from his eyes.

"You heard James?" Lupin asked, pretending not to notice the tears, for the sake of Harry's pride.

"Yeah," Harry answered, looking up at him once his face was dry. "Why? You didn't know my dad, did you?"

"I – I did as a matter of fact," answered Lupin. "We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen, Harry … perhaps we should leave it here for tonight." he tried to say the charm was ridiculously advanced, but Harry would have none of it.

"I'll have one more go! I'm not thinking of happy enough things, that's what it is." Harry said, racking his brains.

Andrew agreed and thought hard for something happier, he thought of when Mel had been run over, holding her bleeding in his arms, but then he also thought of when she was discharged from the halls of healing, the happiness he felt when he knew she would make a full recovery. Then he remembered when Dumbledore came to the temple to say she had become a witch.

Beaming without realising it, he heard Lupin ask, "Ready? Concentrating hard? All right – go!"

Lupin opened the case for the third time, and this time Harry's Patronus halted the Dementor's advance, Andrew threw in his own Patronus and the two together forced the Dementor back.

"Riddikulus!" roared Lupin, causing the Boggart to turn into the silvery orb again, Andrew and Harry fell, Harry to a chair and Andrew to one knee on the floor, as Lupin forced the Boggart back into the case.

"Excellent!" Lupin cried out, striding over to the two boys and helping Andrew off the floor and into a chair. "Excellent, boys! That was definitely a start!"

"Can we have another go? Just one more go?" Harry asked.

"Not now," said Lupin firmly. "You've both had enough for one night. Here.." he passed them both a large bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate. "Eat the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same time next week?"

"Sure," said Andrew, taking a piece of chocolate and letting it melt on his tongue, he let out a long, satisfied sigh.

"Professor Lupin?" Harry asked, Lupin was going around the class extinguishing the lamps. "If you knew my dad, you must've known Sirius Black as well."

Lupin turned very quickly. "What gives you that idea?" he asked sharply.

"Nothing – I mean, I just knew they were friends at Hogwarts too." Harry answered defensively.

Lupin's face relaxed. "Yes, I knew him," he answered, his face taking on a sad look. "Or I thought I did. You two had better get off, it's getting late."

They left the classroom and slowly made their way up to their common room. Harry stayed quiet all the way, but his thoughts were betraying him, he couldn't stop thinking about how he had heard both his parent's voices, even though he tried to tell himself, "( _They're dead, and listening to echoes of them won't bring them back!_ )".

Andrew sighed to himself, wishing there was something he _could_ do to bring them back.

Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term, and only _just_ lost. This spurred Oliver into increasing the team's training to five nights a week, telling them that if they beat Ravenclaw then they were in second place. So between Quidditch and Anti-Dementor lessons, Harry and Andrew only had one night a week to get all their homework done, but thankfully, Ginny and Mel were happy to take a night off case research to help them cram it all in.

Ginny had started helping with the research since Hermione was starting to struggle with her workload. Nowadays she could be seen every night in a corner of the common room, with five tables taking up her books, snapping at anyone who interrupted her.

"How's she doing it?" Ron asked the other boys while they worked on their Undetectable Poisons essays for Snape.

"Doing what?" Harry asked, briefly looking up.

"Getting to all her classes!" Ron hissed, not wanting Hermione to hear him talking about her. "I heard her talking to Professor Vector, that Arithmancy witch, this morning. They were going on about yesterday's lesson, but Hermione can't've been there. She was with us in Care of Magical Creatures! And Ernie McMillan told me she's never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she's never missed one of them, either!" Ron was ranting at this point.

"No idea my friend," Andrew answered, not looking up from his parchment. "But me and Harry have to get on with our work, we can't afford to let Snape take points from Gryffindor, so best not to give him one more reason to."

Sadly, at that moment, Wood sat down and told them about his latest meeting with McGonagall, and how she had given him a stern telling off when he'd tried to get Harry's broom back. "I reckon it's time you ordered a new broom, Harry." Wood said with a sigh. "There's an order form at the back of 'Which Broomstick' … you could get a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, like Malfoy's got."

At this, Harry finally did look up from his essay. "I'm _not_ buying anything Malfoy thinks is good," he said flatly.

"Hey!" Andrew cried, indignantly. " _I_ have one of those brooms you know."

As January moved into February, the weather stayed bitterly cold. With the Ravenclaw match growing nearer and nearer, Harry had taken to asking McGonagall after every Transfiguration lesson if he could have his broom back, Ron standing nearby and looking hopeful, while Hermione excused herself so she could get to her next class.

The twelfth time this happened, McGonagall didn't even look up from her work or let Harry open his mouth, she'd become used to him asking. "No, Potter, you can't have it back yet. We've checked for most of the usual curses, but Professor Flitwick believes the broom might be carrying a Hurling Hex." she told the boys.

"Any idea how much longer it _might_ take?" asked Andrew, fishing for any clues.

"Is it still okay?" Ron asked, McGonagall ignored him.

"Not yet, however I shall _tell_ you once we've finished checking it. Now, please stop bothering me."

Sadly, the Anti-Dementor lessons were not going well either, Harry was only able to make the Boggart-Dementor stop, he wasn't able to make it back off. Andrew's frustration was that whenever he tried to take the lead and give Harry a break, the Boggart just took on the form of his Dark Side and tried to kill him.

"You're expecting too much of yourselves," said Professor Lupin sternly, this was during their fourth week of practise. "For thirteen-year-old wizards, even an indistinct Patronus is a _huge_ achievement, plus, the Boggart-Dementor isn't affecting either of you while you're casting your spells, is it?"

Harry sighed and sank into a chair. "I thought a Patronus would … charge the Dementors down or something," he said dispiritedly. "Make them disappear or something."

"The true Patronus _does_ do that," said Lupin. "But you've both achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the Dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, you will be able to hold them off long enough to get back to the ground."

"I thought you said it was harder if there's more of them," said Harry.

"I have complete confidence in you, besides, Andrew's Patronus blade seems to be more effective than his wand Patronus, if in doubt you could simply attack them." Lupin joked and Andrew couldn't help but laugh and order Lupin not to tempt him. "Here, you've both earned a drink. Something from the Three Broomsticks, Harry, you won't have tried it before." he pulled three bottles from his briefcase.

"Butterbeer!" said Harry, without thinking. "Yeah, I like that stuff!"

Lupin raised an eyebrow. "I brought him back a bottle after my first visit," Andrew said, trying to kill Lupin's suspicion.

"I see," he said, still looking suspicious. "Well – let's drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! Not that I'm supposed to take sides, as a teacher..." he finished hastily.

"We won't tell if you don't," Andrew chuckled as the three of them clinked their bottles together and started drinking.

After a moment, Harry voiced an interesting question. "What's under a Dementor's hood?"

Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully. "Hmm … well, the only people who really know are in no condition to tell us. You see, the Dementor only lowers its hood to use its last and worst weapon."

"Which is?" Andrew pressed.

"They call it the Dementors' Kiss," Lupin said, with a twisted smile. He then explained that it was what a Dementor did to someone they wanted to completely destroy, literally sucking a person's soul out of their body, through lip contact.

"What … they kill.." Harry started.

"Oh, no," Lupin cut him off. "Much worse than that. You can exist without your soul, as long as your brain and heart are still working." he went on to tell them that victims of the Dementors' Kiss couldn't recover, they just existed as an empty shell.

"I think I'd prefer death." Andrew stated, taking another swig from his bottle.

"As would I," answered Lupin. "Sirius Black won't get that option. It was in the 'Daily Prophet' this morning. The Ministry have given the Dementors permission to perform it if they find him."

"I hope, for Black's sake, that Jax gets to him first." Andrew said, looking down sadly.

"I don't," Harry said darkly. "He deserves it."

Andrew shook his head. "Harry, remember what Mel and I have been telling you about anger, don't let your feelings for Black cloud your judgement. Trust me, he may deserve to die, but this Kiss sounds worse."

"He's right, Harry." added Lupin.

They finished their Butterbeers, thanked Lupin and left the classroom. Half-way up to their common room, they bumped into Professor McGonagall, literally in Harry's case.

"Do watch where you're going, Potter!" she said rather indignantly, Harry apologised and she handed him his Firebolt. "I've just been looking for you in the Gryffindor common room. Well, here it is, we've done everything we could think of, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it at all." Harry took the broom, his expression going from brooding to ecstatic quicker than one could blink. "You've got a very good friend somewhere, Potter..."

"I can have it back?" Harry said, his legs going weak from the session with Lupin and his current shock. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," answered McGonagall, she was actually smiling. "I daresay you'll need to get the feel of it before Saturday's match, won't you? And both of you, _do_ try and win, won't you? Or we'll be out of the running for the eighth year in a row, as Professor Snape was kind enough to remind me only last night ..."

Speechless, the two boys ran back to the common room, bumping into Ron half-way. "She gave it to you? Excellent! Listen, can I still have a go on it?"

"Let Harry have a go first, why don't you?" Andrew half-yelled, patting Ron on the back as they turned and headed back.

"Where are the girls?" Harry asked.

"In the common room, Mel and Ginny are playing Magic, I swear they're obsessed, and Hermione's working, for a change." Ron joked.

As they got to Gryffindor Tower, they found Neville there, pleading with Sir Cadogan. "I wrote them down," Neville cried, tears in his eyes, "I must've dropped them somewhere!"

"A likely tale!" roared Sir Cadogan, then he spotted Harry, Ron and Andrew. "Good evening, my fine young yeomen and fellow Knight! Come clap this loon in irons, he is trying to force entry to the chambers within!"

Andrew sighed and just gave the password, forcing Sir Cadogan to let them in. Once inside, there was a sudden commotion as Harry was swarmed by people asking him about his broom and exclaiming that Ravenclaw didn't stand a chance.

After the Firebolt was passed around the room, the crowd dispersed and the boys made their way over to Hermione. She looked up from her work and smiled. "I'm glad it's safe," she said. "Have you had a chance to ride it yet?"

"No, it's too dark now," Harry answered. "I'd better put it upstairs.."

"I'll take it!" Ron said eagerly. "I've gotta give Scabbers his Rat Tonic."

Harry and Andrew sat with Hermione, looking over her workload. "How are you getting through all this stuff?" Harry asked, the question had been bothering him since the New Year.

"Oh, well … you know … working hard," Hermione said evasively.

"Jeez, Hermione, you look exhausted." Andrew pointed out, concerned by the bags under his friends eyes.

"Why don't you drop a couple of subjects?" Harry asked while Hermione looked for something.

"I couldn't do that!" she answered, looking scandalised as she found her Rune dictionary.

"Arithmancy looks terribly complicated," Harry said, picking up a number chart.

"It is, but it's also wonderful!" Hermione replied earnestly. "It's my favourite subject! It's..."

Just then, a strangled yell came from upstairs. The entire common room fell silent, then Ron came banging back into the common room, carrying blood-soaked bedsheets.

He bellowed in Hermione's face that the blood belonged to Scabbers, that he'd found ginger cat hairs on the floor. He kept shouting that Hermione's cat had killed his rat until Andrew had to drag Ron back up the stairs so he could cool off.

The next morning, Ron hadn't stopped blaming Hermione, and Hermione had taken to being enraged that Ron was blaming her cat. Harry didn't help matters by trying to tell Hermione that the evidence pointed that way, she lost her temper with him too.

"Andrew, help me out here!" Harry pleaded.

"I'm staying out of it," Andrew answered, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Why?" Ron demanded, having just walked in.

"Because I don't want to take sides, and frankly? I think you _both_ owe each other an apology." he answered calmly, causing both Ron and Hermione to start shouting at him. "ENOUGH!" Andrew bellowed, silencing them both as he jumped to his feet. "Fine, you want me to wade in, I warned you. Ron, you're right, Crookshanks has been after Scabbers from the moment we met him, but allow me to point out. He is. A fucking. _CAT_!"

The common room, silent until now, gasped when Andrew swore. "Have you never wondered why blind people who are allergic to dogs are so screwed? Because it's _impossible,_ to teach a cat _anything,_ except how to shit a litter tray!" Andrew, in full-rant mode, now turned to Hermione. "And you! I've told you, Harry's told you, Ron's told you, in fact, EVERYONE IN THIS BLOODY ROOM COULD TELL YOU! Your cat's had it in for Scabbers, but did you listen to anyone? NO YOU FUCKING DIDN'T! 'Oh he's a cat, it's natural', 'Oh why not just keep a closer eye on Scabbers?' Why didn't _you_ listen and keep your cat away from the sick rat?!"

Ginny had her hands in her mouth, Mel was ready to jump in if she had to, Ron was sagging and Hermione looked ready to cry. "You know what? I'm done with you two and your near-constant bickering. OUT OF MY WAY, HARRY!" Andrew got up, shoved his way passed Harry and stormed out of the portrait hole, Cadogan shouted something at him and they distinctly heard Andrew shout "Piss off!" at the Knight.

The common room was so silent after he'd left that you could have heard a pin drop. "Well … that was unexpected," said Fred. "You alright Perce?" Percy sat stock still, stuck between shock and outrage at Andrew's language.

Hermione was in tears as she turned to Ron. "He's right, Ron, I'm so sorry, I should've done something to keep Crookshanks away."

"I'm sorry too, Andrew's right, he is a bloody cat," Ron was tearing up too. "It still hurts though, I know I complained about Scabbers a lot, but I still loved that rat."

"All he did was eat and sleep, you said it yourself," George said, trying to be consoling.

"He bit Goyle for us once," Ron said miserably. "Remember, Harry?"

"Yeah, that's true," answered Harry, still a little numb from shock as he stared at the portrait hole and rubbed his shoulder.

"His finest hour," said Fred, fighting to keep a straight face. "Let the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory."

Ginny sighed. "You're not helping!"

"Harry? Didn't you promise Ron a ride on your new broom?" Mel asked.

Harry said it was a great idea, and suggested Ron come to their team's last practise before the Ravenclaw match. Ron could ride his broom after they were done.

Nobody saw Andrew outside of class again until Quidditch practise that evening, he'd refused to sit near his friends in any class, which was something that prompted one or two teachers to ask Harry what was going on. They didn't get a chance to ask Andrew because as soon as the bell rang he was out of his seat and out the door before anyone could blink.

"He lost his temper with Ron and Hermione this morning, I think he's avoiding them until he calms down." Harry explained to each one.

After dinner, Andrew hadn't shown up, Harry and Ron made their way down to the Quidditch stadium where they, at last, found the Jedi. He was sitting in the lotus position in the centre of the pitch, meditating.

He stayed there, in his Quidditch robes, ignoring everyone. Madam Hooch took a while to fawn and gush over Harry's Firebolt until Oliver asked for it back. At that point Andrew got to his feet, summoned his broom to his hand and got on, quickly getting airborne.

Wood scowled at Andrew for not staying to listen to his final pep talk, but he was there that morning and decided to give the Jedi some space. He told Harry he was going against Cho Chang for Ravenclaw, but he wasn't too worried since her broom was nearly nothing next to the Firebolt.

Finally, Harry got to mount his new brook and kick off, he took a minute to get used to the speed and manoeuvrability, before Wood called out that he was letting out the Snitch. Harry raced a Bludger to the goalposts, winning easily, he saw the Snitch dart out from behind Wood and within ten seconds, he'd caught it.

It was the best practise ever, Andrew had been told that he was going to be a Chaser tomorrow. So he and the other Chasers, taking turns, worked on new attack patterns, to try and score as many goals as they could, before any opposing players could have a chance to stop them.

After the session was over, Wood having nothing to criticise, the whole team was sharing good feelings about tomorrow's match.

"I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow!" Wood exclaimed. "Not unless … Harry, you've sorted your Dementor problem, haven't you?"

"Between me and Andrew, yes, we've got something sorted," Harry said, looking to the Jedi, who nodded.

"Not that any Dementors should show up." Andrew added.

"Exactly, Dumbledore'd do his nut!" Fred said confidently.

"Well, let's hope not," Oliver said, looking concerned for his youngest players. "Anyway – good work, everyone. Let's get back to the Tower – turn in early."

Harry announced that he was staying out to let Ron ride his Firebolt, Andrew then said that he would stay to guard them and the others headed to the changing room. Ron vaulted the barrier to the stands and ran over.

"Andrew ..." Ron started, "… I'm sorry."

Andrew sighed, "No, I'm sorry, I've not meditated for a while, I'm guessing this morning just shows how relaxing meditation is."

"No! You were right!" Ron said hastily. "Me and Hermione have been idiots, we've apologised to each other."

"Well then, I'm glad my outburst had some positive results." Andrew answered as Harry passed his broom to Ron.

Ron kept flying until after dark, where Madam Hooch woke with a start, she'd fallen asleep during practise. She shouted at the boys for not waking her and insisted that they head up to the school immediately.

As they were walking back up to the castle, they boys came across Crookshanks, which annoyed Ron and caused him to throw a rock at him, he missed.

"You told me you'd apologised to Hermione," Andrew said, getting agitated.

"Doesn't mean I don't hate that bloody cat!" Ron snapped miserably. Andrew conceded Ron's point with a shrug and the carried on.

They got up to the common room and Hermione threw her arms around Andrew's neck, crying into his shoulder and begging him to forgive her, he calmed her down and told her what he'd already told Ron. "It was my fault really, I should meditate more."

The next morning, Harry and Andrew got a guard of honour from the boys in their dormitory, as they walked down to the Great Hall, probably because of the Firebolt. When they walked in, all heads turned to watch the broom as Harry carried it over to his team. Wood insisted that it be placed on the table in the middle of the team, so everyone could see it.

People from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables came flooding over just to look at the Firebolt, Cedric Diggory patted Harry on the shoulder and congratulated him on a great replacement for his old Nimbus. Penelope Clearwater, the Head Girl and Percy's girlfriend, asked if she could hold the broom, which caused Percy to make a joke about sabotage and explain that they had a bet on the match.

"Harry, make sure you win," Percy whispered to the team. "I haven't got ten galleons. Yes, I'm coming, Penny!" he called and walked over to sit next to her.

"Think you can manage that broom, Potter?" said the cold voice of Earon McCarthy, he'd come for a closer look, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

Before Harry could answer, Malfoy came up. "Wow, that looks awesome!" he breathed, Jax was smirking at his friend, while McCarthy scowled.

"I don't know what's come over you Draco, but it's disgusting!" he turned and stalked away, Crabbe and Goyle looking puzzled for a moment, before they too glared at Malfoy and followed their new leader.

Malfoy had completely ignored McCarthy and just kept looking at the Firebolt in wonder, "I'll make a deal with you, Potter," he said. " _If_ I catch the Snitch in our next match, you let me ride this beauty?"

Ron laughed, mockingly. But Harry offered his hand and said, "You're on." they shook hands and Malfoy went back to his seat, Jax grinning a little as he followed.

"What was that all about?" Fred asked, point with his thumb over his shoulder.

"Funny that Jax is proving to be a good example to Malfoy, but a bad one to Mel," Andrew mused.

"If you're on about her swearing, you've got _no_ room to talk!" George laughed, causing Andrew to wince.

At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team, got up and moved down to the changing room, the weather was, in a word, perfect! Cool, clear and nearly no wind, there was no chance of any visibility problems today. As they got into their Quidditch robes, Andrew helped Harry to attach his wand to a T-shirt he was going to wear under his robes, Andrew took the time to attach his lightsaber to the belt on his robes, his wand securely sealed inside.

"What's with the wands?" Alicia asked.

"In case of Dementors," Andrew answered.

"Okay, we know what to do, if we lose this match, we're out of the running, so just fly like you did yesterday and we'll be fine!" Oliver cheered, the team cheering with him. "Katie, are you alright with warming the bench first?"

"Absolutely!" she answered.

They walked out, onto the pitch, to thunderous applause, striding straight to the centre of the pitch so that Oliver could shake hands with the Ravenclaw captain.

Once Madam Hooch gave the order to mount brooms, Katie picked hers up and made a mad dash for the team bench, tagging Andrew onto the field. As soon as they were in the air, Andrew tuned out the commentary, his job was to score as many goals as possible. The match started and he dived forward, grabbing the Quaffle from the air.

"Alright girls, attack pattern, Charlie, Tango, Alpha!" he shouted to Alicia and Angelina, they had come up with 'attack patterns' so that other teams didn't know what tactics they were using. The other two chasers shot forward, Alicia on the right, veered to the left, across Andrew's nose, as Angelina swooped under her. Andrew feigned a pass to Alicia, then passed to Angelina, who whipped it forward with the tail of her broom.

Andrew moved to catch it but, at the last second, rolled over in the air, the Quaffle sailed past his legs while he was upside-down, and Alicia caught it. She shot past the last Ravenclaw beater, aiming for the left goal, but then she tossed the Quaffle in the air, where Andrew came out of nowhere and drop kicked it into the centre goal. Angelina caught it and threw it back to Alicia who shot at the right-hand goal, Andrew bicycle-kicked the ball, over the goals, to Angelina, who kicked out the tail of her broom again and scored in the left goal.

At that point they had to call off their attack as the Ravenclaw chasers had caught up to them. Oliver called for a substitution and Alicia was swapped for Katie, the crowd going wild at the spectacle they had just seen. Just then, Andrew was distracted by a loud groan from the crowd, he listened to the commentary, which announced that Harry was diving for the Snitch when a Ravenclaw beater forced him off course with a well-aimed Bludger.

The chasers made another attack on Ravenclaw's goals, scoring an extra six times, bringing the score to ninety-nothing. "HARRY, THIS IS NO TIME TO BE A GENTLEMAN!" Andrew heard Wood bellowing, he turned and saw Harry swerving to avoid colliding with Cho, it was obvious to him what had happened, Harry had gone for the Snitch again and she blocked him.

Ravenclaw made an attempt on goal, they had beaten Oliver and were aiming for centre goal, but Andrew swooped in, leapt off his broom to barrel-roll through the goal, catching the Quaffle, landed painfully back on his broom and called out, "Attack pattern, Echo Two!" in a high-pitched voice. That manoeuvre netted the team another seven goals, mainly because the Ravenclaw Chasers were stunned by Andrew's dive through the goal hoop, but partly because the Gryffindors were on faster brooms.

Just as Andrew, Alicia and Katie, there had been another substitution, were high-fiving each other, the crowd screamed in fear. Andrew whipped his head around, seeing nothing he looked down in time to see Harry using a Patronus Charm on three Dementors who were standing on the pitch and staring at him. A huge animal of some kind shot out of Harry's wand and mowed the Dementors down. Harry wasn't watching though, he just turned his focus back on the Snitch and caught it.

Andrew shot towards his best friend, followed by Alicia and Katie, Angelina jumped on her broom and flew up to join a mid-air group hug. The girls kissed Harry and the boys roared like the Gryffindor lion itself. Once they eventually got to the ground, they were mobbed by Gryffindor supporters, Lupin shouted into Harry's ear that his Patronus was brilliant, then pointed over to the 'Dementors'.

Everyone followed his pointing, to see McCarthy, on Goyle's shoulders, Crabbe and Flint being told off big time by Professor McGonagall, who deducted fifty points from Slytherin. Things only got worse when Dumbledore marched over, looking livid.

"Come on boys!" George shouted, a hand on Andrew's and Harry's shoulders. "Party! Gryffindor common room, now!"

"AMEN!" Andrew shouted, punching the air.

Back in the common room, Hermione was still working on Muggle Studies. When asked, she insisted that she had been at the match, but she had to read her book by Monday. Andrew snatched the book out of her hand, threw it up to the ceiling and fired some webbing to hold it there. "I'll get it down for you tomorrow, you _need_ a break Hermione!" Andrew told her firmly, she sighed and agreed as long as Andrew got it down before breakfast in the morning.

Just then, Fred and George came in, loaded with things they could have only gotten from Hogsmeade, when Angelina asked how they'd gotten their hands on all of it, George whispered to Harry and Andrew, "With a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs."

This party lasted long into the night, Hermione eventually relaxed a little, and admitted that she would have found it hard to read with all the noise. The Gryffindor Common room continued to rock until one in the morning, Andrew having disappeared for ten minutes to grab a Karaoke Machine from The Room of Requirement.

At five to one in the morning, Andrew set up a song for the team to sing together. "We've paid our dues," Andrew started, singing into a microphone stand while pretending to press the keys of a piano. "time after time. We've done our sentence, but committed no crime."

By this point, every muggle-born in the room knew the song and a few started waving their arms in the air.

"And bad mistakes, we've made a few," an electric guitar and drums picked up as Andrew raised his voice. "We've had our share of sand kicked in our face. But we've come through!"

"And we need to go on, and on, and on, and on!" the rest of the team sang, before they all belted out the chorus together.

"We are the champions, my friends!" Andrew punched the air with one hand and encouraged the common room to join in with the other. "And we'll keep on fighting, till the end." everyone in the room was now holding their lit wands in the air and waving from left to right like it was a real rock concert. "We are the champions, _we_ are the champions! No time for losers, 'cause we are the champions, of the world!"

As the music cut back to just a piano, Professor McGonagall came in through the portrait hole, looking torn between wanting to celebrate with her house and wanting everyone to get to bed.

"We've taken our bows," Andrew sang alone, "and our curtain calls." he motioned to the team's audience. "You've brought us fame and fortune, and everything that goes with it." he stopped singing.

"We thank you all." the crowd chucked as he went back to singing. "But it's been no bed of roses! No pleasure cruise." he pulled his microphone from it's stand, charged into the crowd and leapt onto a table, singing right into McGonagall's face. "We consider it a challenge before the whole human race. AND WE AIN'T GONNA LOSE!"

The crowd was laughing so hard at the look on McGonagall's face here that the music had to be turned up. "We are the champions, my friends! And we'll keep on fighting, till the end!" Fred moved over to the window and opened it while all of Gryffindor house sang as one. "We are the champions, _we_ are the champions! No time for losers cause we are the champions."

They chose to end the song early there as the team, minus Andrew gathered at the window to shout the last line to the sky. "OF THE SCHOOL!"

McGonagall waited for the cheering to die down before she tried to speak. "I realise we have a good reason to celebrate, but I _insist_ that you all go to bed, _now_." she told them sternly.

"Fair enough," Andrew chirped, hopping off the table. "What do you think though, should we take it on the road?"

"Get yourselves some instruments first," their head of house smirked.

A few jaws dropped. "Well I'll be leaving Hogwarts now, I've seen everything!" George exclaimed.

They all climbed their respective staircases to bed, climbed in and passed right out. Hours later the boys in Harry's dormitory were woken up by Ron screaming. "Black! Sirius Black! With a knife!"

Having heard the door slam just after Ron screamed, Andrew summoned his lightsaber to his hand as he tore towards the door. He heard others entering the common room as he shot out of the portrait hole, his lightsaber igniting, he looked up and down the corridor but saw nothing.

"Payne, what are you doing out of bed?" McGonagall asked, looking extremely annoyed.

"Ron just woke me up screaming, shortly afterwards, our dormitory door slammed shut. He was screaming that Black was there with a knife." Andrew explained, not looking at her, as he kept looking for any signs of Sirius Black.

McGonagall told Andrew to step back into the common room with her, they walked in just as Ron started shouting. "IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE! Professor!" Ron noticed McGonagall standing there. "I woke up, Sirius Black was standing over me, holding a knife!"

McGonagall stared at him, trying to gauge if it was his imagination or not. "Ask him!" Ron shouted, pointing a finger at the portrait hole. "Ask him if he saw..." McGonagall turned on her heel and walked back out.

"Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?" she asked the Knight.

"Certainly, good lady!" he cried, leaving stunned silence both inside and outside the common room.

"You – you _did_?" McGonagall was shocked. "But – but the password!"

"He had 'em!" Cadogan said proudly. "Had the whole week's, my lady! Read 'em off a little piece of paper!"

Andrew groaned and turned to Neville, who suddenly looked on the verge of tears. "Which person," said Professor McGonagall from the portrait hole, her voice shaking in rage. "Which abysmally foolish person wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?"

Neville whimpered and raised his hand.

Nobody in Gryffindor Tower slept that night, regardless of having two Jedi standing guard at the portrait hole. The castle was searched again, but McGonagall came back at dawn, causing Andrew and Mel to ignite their blades by reflex, to inform them that Black had escaped again.

Security was tightened in the castle even more, Flitwick was teaching the doors to recognise a picture of Sirius Black, Filch was boarding up the tiniest of cracks all over the castle and Sir Cadogan had been sacked. The Fat Lady took back her old post, but under the condition of extra security, which Dumbledore had provided in the form of a couple of uniformed trolls.

The Jedi, however, had chosen to contact the council, stating that they had failed twice in their assignment, that Harry was now only alive because Black got the wrong bed. However, amazingly, the council ruled unanimously that the two Padawans were not to be replaced, they were to just come up with a way to double their efforts. So they had started to take turns sleeping in Andrew's bed, Andrew would stay up one night, guarding the door to Harry's dormitory while Mel slept in his bed; then the following night, Andrew would sleep in his bed while Mel guarded the door.

They moved Hermione and Ginny into the boy's dormitory, Harry gave his bed up for Ginny and Ron gave his up for Hermione, the two boys slept in a web hammock that Andrew had to make for them every night. Nobody commented on Hermione, Ginny and Mel sleeping in a boy's dormitory as everyone in Gryffindor House was by now aware of everything. Why Black was breaking into Hogwarts, the Padawans assignment and why Harry and his friends were all being crammed into one room.

Harry had noticed that the statue of the witch, which was hiding the passage to Honeydukes, was still not being blocked or guarded. He voiced his concerns to his friends, asking if they should tell someone. Ron however was completely convinced that Black would be caught if he tried to get in that way, because the owners of the Honeydukes store slept right above the shop, the owners would hear someone breaking in and report it, meaning the Hogwarts students would hear about it too.

"You're not thinking about going to Hogsmeade again?" Mel said in a hushed voice, it was meant to be a command, but it sounded more like a question.

"He should be fine if he wears his invisibility cloak again and stays with us," Ron answered for Harry.

"I agree with Mel, Harry, it's just too dangerous," Ginny said.

"Well you would say that, you're her best friend," Ron said, a little snappishly, to his Sister.

"Well, Andrew and Mel are in charge of Harry's security, so what do you two say?" Hermione asked.

Andrew was looking thoughtfully out the window, he sighed and looked sadly at Harry. "We've come close to failing this assignment twice now, so on the one hand, I'm tempted to lock you in Gryffindor Tower, unless you're going to class or to eat."

Ron didn't like where this was going. "However," Andrew continued, "I'm not going to do that, and if you happen to decide to sneak out to go to Hogsmeade, then we have no choice but to follow you and protect you."

Hermione didn't much like the logic, but had to admit that it did make sense. There was no point in keeping Harry safe from an escaped murderer, by making him a prisoner.

On a, sort of, happier note, Ron was actually getting more attention than Harry for once, and he was loving it. He happily told and retold the tale of Black's second break-in to anyone who would listen.

"… I was asleep, and I heard this ripping sound, thought it was in my dream, who wouldn't? But then there was this draught and I woke up, saw that the curtains on one side of my bed had been ripped down, I rolled over and there he was. He was standing over me, looked like a skeleton with a lot of hair. So I yelled and he scarpered."

"I don't know why though," Ron added to his friends as an afterthought. "Why didn't he just kill me?"

Hearing him ask this, Jax stopped. "As an assassin, I think I can answer that," the Gryffindors turned to him and he continued. "You weren't his target, his plan was to sneak in, slit a throat and creep out. Once he saw you weren't his target, he probably planned to crawl to another bed. But because you yelled, you raised the alarm and forced him to flee. No chance he could take on the entire Gryffindor house without alerting the rest of the castle."

They couldn't help but agree that Jax made good points. "Voice of the experienced?" Andrew joked.

"Odd training session or two gone wrong," he answered with a shrug, referring to scenarios where he had to 'assassinate' a training droid.

Unfortunately for Neville, everyone in the school knew that it was his list of passwords that Black had used. Leaving the poor lad in disgrace.

"Personally I blame that bloody Knight!" Andrew shouted when a Slytherin sixth-year chose to bully Neville in the Great Hall one morning. "If that useless idiot didn't change the damned password every hour on the fu-rickin' hour," he just stopped himself from swearing in front of the teachers. "Neville wouldn't have had to write them down!"

This didn't stop Professor McGonagall from punishing him, he'd lost his visits to Hogsmeade, got a detention and the rest of the house was forbidden from giving Neville the password to get into the common room. This left him stranded outside the common room until someone let him in, watching the Trolls as they compared the size of their clubs and leered at him.

The worst thing for the poor kid, was that his grandmother sent him a Howler, giving the Jedi their first experience of one, and why Hogwarts students dreaded getting them.

Neville grabbed the letter and ran for it, he got as far as the Entrance Hall before it exploded, causing his grandmother's voice to be magnified into the Great Hall. When the Slytherin students roared with laughter, Andrew calmly got up and walked to the teacher's table, leaning in towards his head of house. "Neville has suffered enough now," he told her calmly, and if you don't do something about that," he turned to Snape and pointed at the laughing Slytherins – but before he could say anything else, there was a sudden commotion.

All heads turned as there was the unmistakable sound of a fist making contact with a skull and a body hitting the floor, before Melanie Jacobs, calmness personified, let out a shrieking battle cry and started punching any Slytherin student who was still laughing.

When a Slytherin Prefect drew his wand on her, he was knocked to the floor by Jax, sliding feet first across the table and effectively drop-kicking the guy into the next table, causing a group of Hufflepuffs to scatter. Even Malfoy had dived across the Slytherin table to tackle a seventh-year girl who had grabbed Mel by the throat.

After getting over the initial shock, McGonagall, Snape and Dumbledore stepped in to break up the brawl. Once Mel, Jax and Malfoy had been separated from everyone else, Dumbledore decided to make an announcement.

"All three of you will have detention with _me_ tonight. And if _any_ more cruelty is directed at Neville Longbottom, the person or persons responsible will be expelled," Dumbledore then glared hard at Snape, "or dismissed!"

Madam Pomfrey then checked any injuries, healed a few minor cuts and Mel, Jax and Malfoy were ordered out of the Great Hall. Harry then got nipped by Hedwig, who had a letter from Hagrid. He wanted to see Harry and his friends that evening. At six o'clock, just after dinner, the six of them met Hagrid in the Entrance Hall, the letter had told them to meet him there.

He escorted them down to his hut, where they found a hairy brown suit and a yellow/orange tie hanging on Hagrid's wardrobe door.

"Court case?" Mel asked, pointing at the suit.

"Yea', this Friday. Me an Buckbeak'll be goin' down ter London together. I've booked two beds on the Knight Bus."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more Hagrid," said Harry, feeling bad.

"Believe me, yeh've done enough," Hagrid assured him. "Yeh've written yer statements, helped me find a _lot_ of stuff fer the case, an' even gotten Professor Dumbledore to come to the hearin'."

Andrew decided not to mention that Dumbledore had said he was going regardless, without anyone asking him. Hagrid mainly wanted to talk to Ron and Hermione about their falling out regarding their pets.

"We've, somewhat, managed to agree on that," Hermione told him. "Ron's promised to stop saying anything about Crook-, my cat."

"And she's promised to make sure I don't see the little," Ron stopped himself, "furball. At least until I get over Scabbers."

"Sensible enough I 'spose," said Hagrid, stroking his beard.

They then enjoyed a nice cup of tea together while talking about Gryffindor's increased chances at winning the Quidditch cup this year. "Just the one match to go," supplied Ron. "Thanks to the whitewash against Ravenclaw, we just need to win the game."

"Easy with Harry as the Seeker!" Ginny called.

After that, they talked about poor Neville, who the rest of the Gryffindor third-years had taken to dragging around so he was never left alone, and the brawl that Mel, of all people, had started.

"I still don't know what came over me, after we were kicked out of the Great Hall, Jax lectured me about control." Mel explained.

"Really?" asked Hermione, shocked.

Mel nodded. "Then he congratulated me on a fantastic punch."

"Oh, on that, I have _got_ to agree, that guy was four times your size!" Andrew exclaimed, mimicking her right hook. "Yet one punch, ding ding! K.O!" causing the lot of them to laugh.

Hagrid escorted them back to the castle at nine o'clock, after which they made their way back to The Fat Lady and gave the password, they stepped into the common room to find another Hogsmeade weekend had been announced.

"I still don't think you should go, Harry," Hermione said, worriedly, the other girls agreed.

"Come on mate, you haven't even been in the joke shop," Ron pleaded. Harry looked at Andrew.

"I'll guard you wherever you go, if you stay, I stay, you go, I go. Simple as that." Andrew told him. "But I _still_ think the girls are right."

Harry considered all the options. "I'll take the invisibility cloak again, meet me at the Honeydukes counter?" he asked Andrew.

Andrew sighed, not liking the answer, but he nodded anyway. "Ron, Hermione and Ginny can walk in front when we're outdoors, Harry you _stay_ by my side at _all_ times, Mel, you bring up the rear." he ordered everyone.

"With Jax, I've no doubt." Ron blurted. Just then, Crookshanks leapt into Hermione's arms and Ron glared. Then he sighed and looked away. "Please get him away from me Hermione," he begged her miserably. Hermione nodded, held a little tighter onto her cat, and ran for the girls staircase.

On Saturday morning, they all sat at Breakfast, Mel, Jax and Malfoy having been permitted back into the Great Hall after serving their detention with Dumbledore. They had to spend the night completely cleaning his office, without magic and without waking him up. After they finished eating, Harry made a show of climbing the marble staircase, while waving to his friends and calling that he'd see them later.

They had to linger longer than expected, when Harry finally showed up, he told his friends via telepathy that he'd bumped into Neville and Snape, which was why he was delayed.

"( _Got some bad news for you mate,_ )" Ron told Harry, "( _Malfoy's hanging around with Jax._ )"

Deciding that Malfoy wouldn't see him under the Invisibility Cloak, Harry and Andrew left, the others followed and quickly got into formation outside. Ron, Ginny and Hermione were in front, Andrew was behind them, and behind him came Mel and Jax, holding hands, and Malfoy.

"Morning, Potter," Malfoy said quietly, causing everyone to look at him in horror.

Jax laughed. "I've been teaching Draco the basics, like you have with Potter," he explained. "It wasn't hard to pick up telepathy after the trip to the Chamber last year."

"You're not going to tell are you?" Ginny begged, almost crying.

"Tell what?" Malfoy asked. "I've not _seen_ him."

Ron couldn't stop himself chuckling. "Starr's right Malfoy, you're not all bad."

They went to the Post Office first, Ron telling Andrew about all the various owls in there, Harry was standing between them and listening to every word. What made Andrew laugh was the smallest owls, which were labelled "Local Deliveries Only".

"Where exactly is local to Hogsmeade?" he asked.

"Put simply?" the manager said, hearing the question. "Anywhere up here in Scotland."

"We're in Scotland?" Andrew asked, having never known, the satellite navigation and radar on the car he'd stolen last year had stopped working as soon as he had gotten close to the Hogwarts Express.

"Didn't you already know that? You flew here last year." Ginny said.

"All the readouts stopped working when I got close to the train." Andrew explained. "Hell, even the Altimeter and fuel gauge stopped working!"

"That'll be wards, they scramble Muggle technology, like radar and satellites, to keep places like Hogwarts undetected." Hermione explained.

"I take it that the Express' route is laced with them," Mel said, Hermione nodded.

Their next stop was Zonko's, Andrew paused before going in, sensing a lot of people inside. "Maybe we should come back later," he suggested, thinking that Harry might have a hard time avoiding contact with people with the place being crowded.

Harry insisted that he would be fine and they went in, half an hour later they came back out, laden with a fair few bags of jokes.

"Man, that place was amazing, how anybody manages to get Fred and George out I've no idea!" Andrew exclaimed.

"My guess is Jordan waits until they're out of money and then drags them out." Draco said, before apologising to Ron. "That wasn't meant to sound like another crack about your family being poor."

"Need a shovel?" Jax asked.

Andrew grinned and started walking off, whistling the tune to "We Dig, Dig, Dig!" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, causing Mel to giggle.

"What?" Malfoy asked, before Jax joined in with Andrew's whistling.

"We dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, in a mine the whole day through," Mel was now laughing hysterically. " _You_ dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, dig, it's what _you_ like to do!"

By now, everyone was laughing, even Draco, which was good, because Harry was laughing too and the others were drowning out his voice.

None of them felt like staying indoors, so they moved passed the Three Broomsticks and visited the Shrieking Shack. "It's said to be the most haunted building in Britain." Ron said, standing as close as he dared.

"You should visit the Jedi Temple sometime." Mel answered him. "The place is swarming with Force Spirits."

"Yeah but only the Jedi can see them," Jax said enviously.

"Even the Hogwarts ghosts avoid this place," Draco muttered, leaning on the fence. "I asked the Bloody Baron, he says a very rough crowd used to inhabit the place."

"Nobody can get in," Ron added, "Fred and George have tried, obviously, but all the entrances are sealed shut."

Just then, they heard voices coming from the other side of the hill, McCarthy, Crabbe and Goyle came striding into view, talking about Buckbeak's hearing.

"… should have an owl from Malfoy's father any day now. He had to go to the hearing to tell them about my arm, how I couldn't use it for three months..."

Crabbe and Goyle were sniggering. "I really wish I could hear that oaf trying to defend himself. Trust me, that Hippogriff is as good as dead!"

"And the second he dies, I'll send you to join him McCarthy!" Jax shouted, getting their attention.

"What're you lot doing here?" McCarthy demanded, then he glanced at the Shrieking Shack. "Weasley showing you his dream home?"

Ron went for him, but Mel held him back. "Do you really want to pick a fight right now?" Andrew asked calmly. "You _have_ noticed who's here, and you _do_ remember that they took on your _entire_ house … there's only three of you here right now." he warned.

That was when they realised that Malfoy was there too. "Your father would be disgusted, Draco. Hanging around Mudbloods?"

Jax roared and ignited his lightsaber, "YOU TAKE THAT BACK!"

"Hold on Jax, let me handle this, without killing anyone." Andrew said, placing a hand calmly on the Sith's shoulder, Harry crept off and circled around behind the three Slytherins. "Offer you blokes a challenge," Andrew continued, igniting his lightsaber and hurling it to his left, where it embedded itself in a tree. "You three, against me … no lightsaber," he drew his wand and flung it like a knife, where it stuck in the ground by its tip, Ron quickly picked it up so that nobody would step on it. "No wand. Let's do this like Gents shall we?"

Grinning, Crabbe and Goyle circled behind the Jedi, cracking their knuckles. Crabbe went for him first, Andrew slammed his elbow into Crabbe's gut, then swung his other fist right into Crabbe's face, finally the Jedi sent the other guy flying with a drop kick to the chest, landing on his palms and performing a kip up to land back on his feet.

"I never said I wouldn't use my natural agility though," he added with a grin.

While Goyle tried to drive his foot through Andrew's spine, Harry distracted McCarthy by hurling a handful of mud at him.

While McCarthy had his back to them, Andrew grabbed Goyle's ankle, pulled him closer and elbowed Goyle in the gut, before throwing him over his shoulder, causing the thug to land heavily on his leader. Crabbe got up and made to kick Andrew in his spine, but Andrew spun and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying back, where he landed on the hem of Harry's cloak and pulled it, revealing Harry's head.

For a second, nobody moved, except McCarthy and Goyle, trying to disentangle themselves from each other. McCarthy caught sight of Harry's head and screamed, getting up and flat out running for the castle.

"Quick, Potter, get out of here!" Malfoy hissed. "He'll go straight to Snape and you _know_ he's got it in for you!"

Harry nodded, pulled his cloak back over his head and ran for Honeydukes. Ron and Andrew looked at each other and started sprinting for the Castle, Andrew using the Force to help him move faster while calling his lightsaber and wand back to his hands.

Andrew raced straight for the common room, freaking out a little when he found that Harry wasn't there, it wasn't until a few minutes later, while in the library, that Ron sent him a message to say he'd gotten to Harry.

Back in the common room, Harry explained what had happened. "Snape caught me, right after I came out of the statue. He took me to his office and told me that McCarthy had gone straight to him, just like Malfoy said he would. He tried insulting my Dad to get me to talk and when I told him to shut up, he ordered me to turn out my pockets."

"What was in them?" Ginny asked.

"A bag of Zonko's stuff and the Marauder's Map." Harry answered.

"Oh crap," Mel breathed.

"Snape quickly caught on that the Map was more than some piece of parchment, and then he tried to get it to reveal its secrets," Harry then started sniggering. "Hang on a sec, thinking back on it now, it's too hilarious!"

Once he'd laughed for a bit, Harry continued. "The map started acting a bit like Riddle's Diary, letters were drawing themselves on the parchment. Snape said 'Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!'" Harry paused for a moment to giggle again.

"So on the Map comes this; 'Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business.'"

The others burst out laughing. "Oh, I'm not done yet!" Harry called over their laughter. When they calmed down he told them the next line, "'Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.' Then the next line was; 'Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor.'"

They all had tears of laughter in their eyes now. "Finally it said; 'Mr Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball.'"

Wiping his eyes and laughing so hard it hurt, Andrew cried out, "Oh that is _priceless_! I wish you had a camera, I'd pay good money to have seen Snape's face!"

"Well it went downhill after that, Snape called Lupin, claiming that the Map was full of Dark Magic." Harry told them.

"That's where I came in, ain't it." Ron blurted out.

"Yep, so after Lupin got us out of trouble, he told me he knew it was a map, he thought Filch still had it, then he told us off for not handing it in." Harry finished.

"So what's going to happen now?" Hermione asked.

"Well, Lupin's kept the map," Harry said sadly.

To make matters worse, an owl chose that moment to sail through the window and drop a letter into Hermione's lap.

She opened it quickly, read through it, and gasped. "It's from Hagrid, Buckbeak is to be executed!"


	6. Quidditch Final, Exams and Animals

Chapter 6 – Quidditch Final, Exams and Animals.

Ginny had started to cry and the others all frowned. "What in Yoda's name?" Mel snapped, taking the letter from Hermione and reading through it.

"They can't do that, Buckbeak isn't dangerous!" Harry shouted, rubbing Ginny's back after she turned and cried into his chest.

"Malfoy's dad," Ron growled. "I'd bet my savings that he frightened the Committee into this verdict!"

"There's still the appeal," Hermione started, tears coming to her eyes too. "But I don't see how it'll help, nothing will have changed."

"You're right, if there's any more information to find, I don't think we'll be able to find it." Mel said, sagging in her seat.

"We should go see Hagrid," Harry said with determination, not bothered that his shirt was slowly becoming soaked.

"Good luck with that," Andrew answered sourly. "With all the security the Teachers and Prefects are implementing, we'll never be allowed out the main door."

"We'll have Care of Magical Creatures with him first thing on Monday," Hermione said quickly, perking up a little.

They silently agreed to wait until the lesson before talking to Hagrid and just stayed by the fire.

On Monday, during their first lesson, the six Gryffindors spent the whole lesson talking to Hagrid, he was still numb with shock over the verdict.

He blamed himself, because he got tongue-tied and dropped his notes. "Dumbledore pulled an amazin' trick though," he said with pride. "Took a swig from 'is flask and turned inter Andrew ter read 'is statement. Then 'e did the same fer each of yeh. Didn' 'elp though."

"There's still the appeal!" Ron growled fiercely. "Don't give up yet, we're working on I!"

Hagrid was escorting his class back up to the Entrance Hall at this point, his huge shoulders sagging. "'S'no good, Ron," he said sadly as they reached the castle steps. Draco and Jax were nearby, listening in. "That Committee's in Lucius Malfoy's pocket. I'm jus' gonna make sure the rest o' Beaky's time is the happiest he's ever had."

"I'm sorry," Draco said sadly as he passed.

"Thank ye, Draco," Hagrid answered. Andrew growled as he noticed McCarthy, Crabbe and Goyle sniggering, just inside the door.

Hagrid turned and hurried towards his hut, his face buried in his handkerchief.

"Look at him blubber!" Crabbe jeered.

"Have you ever seen anything so pathetic?" asked McCarthy. "And he's supposed to be our _teacher_!"

"So he's human, which is more than I can say for you." Draco spat.

"Exactly, once the Hippogriff dies, you'll be a corpse," Jax added calmly, like he was discussing the weather.

Just as McCarthy was about to answer, Hermione came from nowhere and slapped him. "Don't you _dare_ call Hagrid pathetic, you foul, evil, loathsome little cockroach!"

She moved to slap him again, but Draco caught her wrist gently. "Much as I would like to watch you slap him silly, Granger, would you mind waiting until I've sold a few tickets first?"

McCarthy looked scandalised. "You're siding with a Mudblood, Draco?" WALLOP! Draco punched McCarthy so hard in the face, that the back of his head collided with the door to the castle grounds.

McCarthy and his goons then took that moment to run away. "Nice punch!" Jax praised, giving his friend a high-five.

"I don't think I'll be able to stand him gloating if Slytherin win." Hermione seethed, Draco nodded as he let go of her wrist.

"Likewise, he goes on like he's up there with us half the time." he groaned.

"Come on, we're due in Charms." Ron said, placing a hand behind Hermione's back and steering her towards the marble staircase.

They broke into a run after they got to the first floor. "You five are late." Professor Flitwick told them as they came in.

"Wait, five?" Ron asked, looking around. "Where's Hermione?"

"I'll go find her," Mel said, quickly asking Flitwick what they were doing, and promising to catch up.

After the lesson, Mel met up with the others at lunch, looking thoroughly worried, she hadn't found Hermione anywhere.

"Did you check your dormitory?" Andrew asked, looking concerned too.

"No, I hardly think Hermione is one to go to bed when she's got classes to get to!" Mel snapped. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried."

Getting up, the five of them agreed to check Gryffindor Tower, then split up. When they got to the common room, they found her, asleep at a table with her head on her Arithmancy book.

After waking her up and asking her why she wasn't in Charms, Hermione seemed to have a slight breakdown and stormed out, saying she would meet them in Divination.

When she got there, twenty minutes later, she looked extremely harassed. "I can't believe I missed Cheering Charms!"

"I did too, looking for you," Mel said, looking cross.

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, promising to work on them with her, since Flitwick hinted that they would be part of the end of year exams.

"( _I thought you were going to talk to McGonagall,_ )" Mel said to Andrew.

"( _I did, she refused to tell me a damned thing!_ )" Andrew growled back.

When they got into the loft, they saw a collection of crystal balls, one on each table. "I thought we weren't starting crystal balls until next term." Ron said.

Andrew and Mel looked a little upset, mainly because it was becoming obvious that they were never going to be learning about premonitions.

"Don't complain," Harry answered, "this means we've finished palmistry."

"Thank God?" Andrew muttered, causing Ginny to giggle.

To be honest, it wasn't a great class, nobody saw a thing in the crystal balls, except Ron. "Would anyone like any help?" Professor Trelawney had asked.

"I don't need any help," Ron answered. "It's obvious what this means. There's going to be loads of fog tonight."

The others broke down into fits of laughter, causing Trelawney to come over and look for herself. Once again, she tried to say she could see the Grim, but Hermione lost her temper and left the class, permanently.

After the class was over, Andrew, Mel and Hermione discussed one of the Jedi quitting the class so they could protect her too, but she insisted that if they wanted to continue Divination, then she wouldn't allow them to quit.

It turned out not to be the best Easter holiday they had had. The third-years were slowly being buried under their homework, none so much as Hermione. "Call this a holiday!" Seamus roared in the common room, Neville had just had a nervous breakdown over his own homework. "The exams are ages away, what're they playing at?"

Ron had ordered Hermione to take a break from helping Buckbeak, so he could work on the appeal and she could keep up with her school work, he had blushed when Hermione, being so grateful she could burst, had kissed his cheek and said 'Thank you'.

"I really think you need to drop another subject Hermione," Andrew said, growing concerned. Sirius Black, the Jedi could protect from, Hermione killing herself with school work?.. that was something they were helpless against.

Hermione wouldn't hear of it and carried on with her homework. Ginny was being helped by Mel, since she had leapt over an entire year's worth of homework, so the amount that they had was a little much for the twelve-year-old.

Andrew and Harry, however, still had the same amount of homework, Anti-Dementor lessons and, thanks to the upcoming final, Quidditch practise to contend with. All-in-all, all six of them were struggling to cope with the amount they each had on their plate.

With the final being on the first Saturday after the holidays, Slytherin were roughly a hundred and twenty points up, mainly thanks to the scoring frenzy from the Gryffindor–Ravenclaw match. However, Oliver kept making himself late for his lessons by seeking out Andrew and Harry, so that he could remind them of their jobs in the next match.

"Oliver, focus on your classes, we've got this, breathe." Andrew ordered him.

Oliver wasn't the only Gryffindor student who was obsessing over the match, Gryffindor hadn't won the cup since the legendary Charley Weasley had been Seeker. By the time the holidays were over, the tension between Gryffindor and Slytherin was almost nuclear. There were fights breaking out in the corridors, Wood had almost ordered that Harry get an escort so that Slytherin couldn't sabotage him. But that got shot down by Andrew and Mel, everyone had noticed how they had been shadowing him everywhere.

Crabbe and Goyle obviously hadn't noticed. Every now and again, they would jump out at Harry, only to find three lightsabers pointed at their chests, causing them to walk away in a sulk. Thanks to the Jedi, Harry was able to get to his classes on time, regardless of the cheering crowds of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw students wherever he went, but Harry insisted on checking his Firebolt between each class, just to make sure it was safe. Luckily in that regard, his Force training was coming along nicely, because he was becoming quite proficient in using the Force to increase his running speed.

Anything that would normally happen in Gryffindor Tower's common room, wasn't being done on the night before the match. Even Hermione had abandoned her books, claiming she couldn't focus on her work.

The Jedi attempted to meditate, but the excitement in the room was so strong that it overpowered them whenever they tried. Fred and George were being louder than ever, Wood was obsessing over a model of the pitch, Alicia, Angelina and Katie were laughing at the twins, and Harry tried to keep his mind off the match, by playing more Magic.

"You've really taken to that game, haven't you." Mel commented, Harry just smiled back and played a card that made Hermione send half her library to her grave.

Andrew watched this and glared at his best friend. "You're a blue mage!"

"I think so, why?" Harry asked, slightly confused by the hostility.

"I _hate_ blue mages. You're either a 'blue deck says no' player, or you're a miller." Andrew said with venom.

"Sorry?" Ginny said, confused.

"I shall explain." Andrew told her. "First option of a blue deck; I'm going to do this, blue deck says 'no'," Andrew was miming the act of placing cards on a table. "Okay, I'm going to do _this_ , blue deck says 'no'. I'll do this, this and this. No, no, no."

"HA! You're out of mana, I play a nine/nine creature with Trample!" Mel chimed in.

"Fair enough, my turn? Mind control, I now own your creature." Andrew finished.

"That's just evil!" Ron complained, laughing.

"The other type of blue deck, basically runs on the idea of making you deck yourself." Andrew explained. "Which is what Harry's using, 'I'll make you pick up extra cards all the time, when you have more than seven in hand, you have to discard cards, I'll cast spells to make you send cards from the library, directly to the grave, and eventually you'll go to draw a card, find no cards are there, and you've lost.'"

"Equally evil," Hermione complained, having just lost in the same way Andrew had described.

"Hence why I hate blue mages." Andrew huffed.

"Team! Bed!" Wood ordered.

"Perfect timing," Mel pointed out as Harry and Andrew got up to go and sleep.

The next morning, the Gryffindor team walked into the Great Hall, to the thundering applause of everyone in the school, bar the Slytherins. After they had all eaten, they left the Great Hall to even more applause and calls of good luck.

Wood marched his team down to the pitch, making comments about the weather and the ground. When he noticed the main doors open, he ordered his team to the changing rooms.

As they were all changing, Andrew broke the silence. "Boss, I'm warming the bench," he said firmly.

The girls gasped. "But why, Andrew?" Angelina asked.

Andrew sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, this might sound silly. But this is a journey you guys started two years ago, you are the team that _should_ have won it then, I was just a first-year. True, I've helped get us this far, but … this is _your_ show, it's _your_ story."

"And what if we need you?" Oliver demanded.

"I'm still on the bench, but I've got faith. I believe you guys can win without me, but sub me in if you need me." Andrew told his captain.

"That … that's _so_ touching, Andrew!" Alicia cried, pulling Andrew into a tight hug.

"We'll win it, first goal's for you, Andrew." Katie added, hugging her team mates, the others moved in to make it a group hug.

"Just make sure you're up there with us..." Fred started. "... _when_ Harry gets the Snitch." George finished.

"Wouldn't miss it." Andrew answered, looking to Oliver for his approval.

Wood nodded, breaking up the team hug. "Okay, it's time, let's go ..."

As they stepped out onto the pitch, the crowd roared. Most were wearing red and waving banners which said 'GO GRYFFINDOR!' and 'LIONS FOR THE CUP'. Behind the Slytherin goalposts, sat two hundred people, all wearing green, this included Snape and Filch, both sitting front and centre.

"And here come the Gryffindors!" yelled Lee Jordan, the usual commentator. "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, Payne and Wood!"

The Slytherins drowned his next words out by booing. "Payne has been placed on the bench for the beginning of this match."

As the Slytherin team came out, Lee commented that Marcus Flint had gone for size rather than skill, which seemed to be true, not that the Slytherin fans agreed. In fact, they booed some more.

After Hooch ordered team captains to shake hands, Andrew picked up his broom and ran off the pitch. The game started with Alicia having the ball and Malfoy tailing Harry. "We're still on, right Potter?" he called.

Harry looked at him, a little confused. "I catch the Snitch, I get to ride your broom!"

The two of them laughed and got on with the game. Alicia had lost the Quaffle to Warrington, who was hit by a Bludger, losing the ball to Angelina, who scored.

"YES! YOU GO GIRL!" Andrew bellowed, Angelina couldn't hear him, but she saw him dancing and saluted him, just as Flint smashed into her. Fred threw his club at Flint and caused Hooch to award a penalty to each team.

Alicia took the penalty for Gryffindor, scoring easily. Harry and Malfoy stopped their search for the Snitch to watch Flint, with a bleeding nose, take Slytherin's penalty.

"Oh come on, Flint!" Malfoy groaned, Oliver had saved the shot.

"Be fair, Draco," Harry said, "Oliver's a good keeper."

"True," Malfoy answered as the two Seekers continued their search.

The Quaffle changed sides so much in the next few minutes, that Lee was having a hard time to keep up with his commentary. That is until Montague, a Slytherin Chaser, flew in and grabbed Katie's head instead of the ball.

Katie was awarded a penalty, which she scored easily. "THIRTY–ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING –" Lee was cut off by Professor McGonagall.

"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an unbiased way –!"

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!"

At this point, Harry got a little bored and shot off, pretending to have seen the Snitch, Derrick shot one Bludger at him, Bole shot the other. They both missed and continued to fly at him with their clubs raised, Harry simply waited for the last moment and shot up. This left the two Slytherin Beaters to crash into each other.

Shortly after the mid-air collision, Flint managed to score, and _then_ the game turned ugly. Bole smacked Alicia with his club and tried to say he thought she was a Bludger, this caused George to elbow Bole in the face.

Hooch awarded both teams another penalty, Angelina took Gryffindors, scoring, Montague took Slytherins and Oliver saved.

"You need me to take over, Alicia?" Andrew called, she shook her head and gave him an 'OK' sign with her fingers. Andrew nodded, gave her the thumbs up and clapped the team on.

Katie had scored again, Fred and George flying around her in case of Slytherin retaliation. Derrick and Bole took the opportunity to send both Bludgers at Oliver, which caused Madam Hooch to slightly lose her temper.

"You do not attack the Keeper unless the Quaffle is within the scoring area!" she shrieked, before awarding Gryffindor another penalty.

Angelina scored again, making it sixty to ten. A minute later, George smacked a Bludger at Warrington, perfectly knocking the Quaffle out of his hand and into Katie's waiting arms, she zoomed off and scored again, Gryffindor were now winning by sixty points.

All eyes were on Harry, he saw the Snitch and went for it, but by chance, Bole was nearby and had leapt onto the tail of the Firebolt, stopping it from going fast enough to catch the Snitch.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PLAYING AT BOLE!" Malfoy shouted, trying to kick the Beater off Harry's broom.

Hooch awarded a penalty to Gryffindor again, the crowd was beyond pissed, Lee was swearing into his megaphone, McGonagall wasn't even bothering to stop him, she was shaking her fist at Bole too.

Alicia took the penalty but missed, she was too angry to concentrate. Montague then scored, bringing the score to seventy–twenty. Angelina had the Quaffle and was having all Slytherin players except for Malfoy, move in to bury her.

Harry, however, picked that moment to use the Firebolt as a battering ram, causing the Slytherin team to scatter, clearing the way for Angelina to score. As Harry moved back to the centre of the pitch, he saw Malfoy diving for the Snitch. Harry went after him, flattening himself to his broom handle as Bole shot a Bludger at him.

They were level, Harry dived forward and knocked Malfoy's hand out of the way.

"YES!"

Harry pulled out of the dive, hand in the air, then the wind was knocked out of him as Andrew leapt from the ground and slammed into him, hugging the life out of him. Wood was the next to join them, crying without restraint. Fred and George slammed into the growing team hug and then Alicia, Angelina and Katie floated over.

The team floated down slowly, chanting "We've won the cup!" over and over, after they realised that Andrew had left his broom on the bench. As they touched down onto the pitch, they were invaded by wave upon wave of red. The fans hoisted the team onto their shoulders and carried them to the stands, where Dumbledore happily presented them with the Quidditch cup.

A strange silence came over the crowd as Oliver held the cup in both hands, then he held it out to Harry. The eight of them looked at each other, beaming.

"Together?" Andrew asked, placing a hand on the cup.

"Together!" the twins answered, mimicking him. All eight players placed a hand on the cup, then Wood held it aloft and the crowd roared again.

Celebrations over Gryffindors win seemed to go on for a week, though they had no idea what Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw were getting up to in their own common rooms, Harry and his friends knew that they were celebrating too, because whenever a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team was seen anywhere in the castle, they were cheered _very_ loudly.

Even the weather seemed to be celebrating, not a cloud to be seen for miles and the temperature just about perfect. As much as everyone wanted to enjoy the weather and just laze about, nobody could, with the start of June came the end of year exams, which seemed to become more gruelling with each passing year.

"At least we're not fifth or seventh-years," Andrew commented, nodding over to Fred, George and Percy Weasley.

"Yeah, Fred and George have O. and Perce has his N.E. ," Ron answered, looking at his brothers with sympathy.

"Remind me," Mel said, "what are those?"

"O.W.L stands for Ordinary Wizarding Level," Hermione answered, not looking up from her revision.

"And N.E.W.T is Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test." Ron added.

"Sounds a bit like Muggle SATs and GCSEs," Andrew muttered thoughtfully.

Ron and Ginny looked a little confused, so Harry explained.

"SATs are taken at age eleven, and kinda decide what level you're taught at in Secondary School. GCSEs are taken at age sixteen and allow you to go to college, but a lot of Muggle employers will either accept you for a job or turn you away, based on your grades."

"Exactly like our tests then, O.W.L grades decide what subjects you can take in sixth and seventh year and N.E. dictate what jobs you can get after school," Ron said. "Heh, I guess Wizards and Muggles _are_ a lot alike."

Just as Ron gave up on asking Hermione how she was planning to get to multiple exams at once, Hedwig and Snowfire arrived, she was carrying a letter for Harry and he was just coming with her.

"It's from Hagrid," Harry said, ripping the letter open and reading it. "Buckbeak's appeal is on the sixth."

"Good, just after the exams are over," Mel said happily.

"And they're coming up here to do it," Harry continued, still reading. "Someone from the Ministry of Magic and – and an executioner."

Everyone dropped what they were holding in shock. "They're bringing the executioner to the appeal!" Andrew exploded, causing Percy to look up and glare at the noise. "That sounds like they've decided before we even start!"

"They'll have to go through us to do it," Ginny said, trying to calm him down.

"Too bloody right they will!" Andrew snapped, his hand twitching towards his lightsaber.

Ginny flinched when Andrew snapped at her, but she knew he didn't mean to. They all wanted to go and see Hagrid, but the new security measures hadn't been lifted yet, Harry's Invisibility Cloak was at the bottom of the shaft beneath the statue of the one-eyed witch, and besides, it wouldn't have covered all six of them.

Guarding Harry was also starting to take its toll on the two Padawans, who were still only getting to sleep once every two days. Between sleep deprivation, lessons and revision, both were sporting bags under their eyes. A fact which was noticed by their head of house.

"You should _both_ get some sleep," McGonagall had told them. "I realise you're determined to perform your duty, but this is becoming unhealthy, let us guard Harry overnight, like we do the rest of the castle."

After much persuasion, they both agreed, they needed their rest if they were going to get through the exams.

The first exam the third-years had was Transfiguration, where they were to turn a tea pot into a tortoise. It went well for most, but everyone was worrying afterwards that they hadn't done well enough. After a hasty lunch, it was Charms, where Hermione was right and they _were_ tested on Cheering Charms. Again, mostly simple, but Harry had overdone his and Ron had to wait in a quiet room, laughing himself sick, before he tried his Charm.

The following day, they had Care of Magical Creatures first. Hagrid passed out Flobberworms and told them that if their worm was still alive after an hour, they had passed. So everyone just lounged about on the grass and left their worms alone. Harry and his friends took the opportunity to talk to Hagrid. Jax and Malfoy sitting nearby.

"Beaky's gettin' a bit depressed," Hagrid told them. "Bin cooped up too long. But still … we'll know day after tomorrow."

"We'll be there too Professor," Jax said, Malfoy nodded. "Trust me, the executioner will die before Buckbeak."

After that, they had potions, which didn't seem to go well for Harry, much to Snape's pleasure. They had Astronomy at midnight, by now most of the school had heard about Professor Sinistra's engagement and, before the exam started, many of the girls took a moment to gush over her ring.

"You know, I've just realised that I should be a tad embarrassed," Andrew commented.

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Because a Padawan's Master is kinda like a parent," Andrew answered. "And technically my Dad is marrying my teacher!" he buried his face in his hands as he turned beet red and the other students laughed.

The next morning they had History of Magic, where Harry, Andrew and Mel wrote down everything Mr Fortescue had told them on medieval witch hunts, all of them wishing for one of his sundaes because it was so hot.

Heat wise, things got worse in their next exam, Herbology, they had to perform their entire exam inside the greenhouses. After the exam was over, and Professor Sprout had applied sunburn lotion to everyone's necks, they moved back to the common room.

Their first exam on the last day, was Defence Against the Dark Arts. Lupin had supplied the strangest exam ever, an obstacle course, containing every creature they had studied during the year. Andrew and Mel, being Jedi, had taken part in a few SAS obstacle courses and mainly went for speed, they had moved so fast that the creatures they were supposed to be getting past, hardly even realised they were there.

It was the final obstacle that tripped Mel up, they had to climb into an old trunk and battle a Boggart. After about a minute, Mel came back out, crying so hard that everyone watching was worried she'd been injured.

"I – I saw Andrew, I'd killed him!" she sobbed. Lupin gave her some chocolate and told her she'd passed anyway.

She cheered up a little when Hermione went next, bursting out of the trunk and screaming that Professor McGonagall had told her she'd failed every exam.

Ron was giggling about that all the way back to the castle, they'd taken the exam outside. Once they got there, they found Fudge, sweating in his pinstriped cloak.

"( _Well, well. If it isn't the permission slip thief._ )" Andrew thought, coldly, to the others.

"Lovely day," said Fudge, having started talking to Harry. "Pity … pity..."

He sighed and looked at the six Gryffindors. "I'm here on an unpleasant mission. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad Hippogriff."

"Excuse me?" Andrew said before he could stop himself. " _Mad_ Hippogriff? Who exactly is in charge of knowing fu-sod all about creatures on that committee?" he demanded.

"I beg your pardon, Andrew?" Fudge asked.

"Because if that person did their job right, they'd know that an insulted Hippogriff _will_ attack, doesn't mean it's mad!"

"Calm yourself, Padawan," Fudge said, holding his hands up and trying to be diplomatic. "I am only repeating what I have been told."

"Has the appeal already happened?" Ron asked, cutting in.

"No, no, it's scheduled for this afternoon," Fudge said, looking curiously at Ron.

"Then you might not have to witness an execution at all!" Ron said firmly as Draco and Jax showed up. "The Hippogriff might get off!"

"There's no 'might' about it, Weasley," Jax said, glaring daggers at the Minister. "The Hippogriff _will_ get off!"

Before Fudge could answer that, two more wizards showed up, one of them was running a thumb over the blade of an axe on his belt. Losing his temper, Andrew pulled the axe from the executioner's belt and into his hand, cutting the man's thumb. "Confiscated!" he shouted.

"You cut my thumb you little.."

"Mind your language, please," snapped Mel. "There are _children_ present!"

By now, they were drawing a crowd. "Now, now, children," the man from the Committee started.

"That Hippogriff dies, so do you!" Jax spat, drawing his lightsaber and igniting it.

"Now see here, young man," Fudge started, "as Min.."

"I don't give a flying fuck who you think you are, Minister!" Jax bellowed. "But I promise you this," he turned to the executioner. "You _will_ die, if you harm so much as a feather on that Hippogriff's head!"

"What is going on here?" everyone turned to see Professor Dumbledore, standing next to Fudge.

"Nothing, Professor," Andrew said calmly, he and Mel also igniting their lightsabers. "Just a slight disagreement, I'm certain it will be solved peacefully."

"Just as soon as these three leave." Mel said, glaring at the Minister, the Committee member and the executioner.

Dumbledore sighed. "Would you all kindly go to lunch, and Andrew, please return Mr Macnair's axe to him."

Shocked, Andrew didn't move. "Certainly sir, where in his chest should he bury it?" Jax asked, but Andrew then tossed the axe into the air and sliced it into several pieces.

"You've no need of it, murderer!" Andrew shouted, shoving his was past Dumbledore and Fudge.

"Really?" Fudge complained. "I _thought_ the Jedi were peacekeepers!"

"Sometimes, Minister," Mel said as she deactivated her blades and brushed past him. "We have to employ 'aggressive negotiations'." she finished as she turn and bowed with a flourish.

For everyone except Hermione, the last exam was Divination. They were all seen one at a time, nobody gave anything away as they came down the ladder. When Andrew took his test, he saw nothing in the crystal ball, however he just chose to make some things up.

Andrew waited with Harry as the others did their tests and left for the common room. When Harry came down, he told Andrew that Trelawney had had a trance, a real one. She'd said that Voldemort's servant was going to 'break free' tonight, to rejoin his master. That Voldemort would rise again with this servant's aid, greater and more terrible than ever before.

"You think she means Black?" Andrew asked as they moved swiftly towards Gryffindor Tower.

"I'm guessing so, it's not like there's anything we can do about it." Harry answered. They entered the common room, intending to tell the others, but Ron showed them a letter, saying that they lost the appeal.

Harry immediately said that they had to go and see Hagrid, Ginny cried and said she couldn't bear to see that, so Mel volunteered to stay with her, Hermione found out from Harry where his cloak was and how to open the one-eyed witch, then she left. Fifteen minutes later, she was back, handing Harry the cloak.

"I don't know what's gotten into you lately, Hermione," Ron said. "But it's bloody brilliant! First you hit McCarthy, then you walk out on Professor Trelawney, now this!"

Hermione blushed, and Harry came up with their plan, they would go to dinner with everyone else, then he, Ron, Hermione and Andrew would sneak off, the Jedi keeping a lookout and the others running with the cloak to hide them.

Hagrid wasn't pleased when he realised who was at his door, but he let them in anyway. He made tea, his hands shaking so badly that he dropped his milk jug, causing it to shatter on the floor.

Hermione took over as Andrew looked out the window, seeing Buckbeak in the pumpkin patch. "This is so _wrong_!" Andrew growled, thumping his fist softly against the window frame.

"There ain't nuttin' we can do abou' it though," Hagrid said, sagging in his chair.

"Remember what you and Mel have been telling me," Harry said. "Don't let your anger influence you."

Andrew closed his eyes, letting out an angry breath through his nose. He turned to the table and sat down. "I'm not going to, but still..."

Hagrid directed Hermione to find another jug in the cupboard, Hagrid told them how Dumbledore had tried at the appeal, but Malfoy's dad had gotten his buddy Macnair to come down and make the kill.

Hermione offered to stay, they all did, but Hagrid told them they were to go back to the castle before it happened. At this point, Hermione was crying heavily. She went back to the counter to continue making tea, but then she let out a shriek as she was pouring milk into the new jug.

"Ron, I don't believe it!" she cried. "It's Scabbers!"

Ron gaped at her. "What're you talking about?" Hermione walked over and turned the milk jug over, dropping Scabbers onto the table. He was desperately trying to get back inside. "Scabbers!" Ron cried in shock. "What're you doing here?" Ron picked his rat up, but Scabbers was still struggling to escape. "It's okay, Scabbers! No cats! There's nothing here to hurt you!"

Hagrid glanced out his window and stood up sharply. "They're comin'..." he said, the teens whipped their heads around, looking out the window too. They saw Dumbledore, leading the other three men behind him. "Yeh gotta go," Hagrid said, trembling, Andrew made for the front door, but Hagrid grabbed his shoulder, shaking his head. "They mustn' find yeh here … go on, now..."

Ron stuffed Scabbers into his pocket and Hagrid let them out the back. Hermione tried one last time to get him to let them stay and stop them, but Hagrid wouldn't let them.

That's when they heard Fudge's voice. "What are you doing out this late?"

"Out for an evening stroll," Andrew answered him, tersely. Hermione took the chance to throw the cloak over the boys and they crept past.

"It's too dangerous for you to be out, with Black on the loose still," Fudge told the Jedi.

"I'm sure that I'm safe," Andrew said, forcing himself to keep calm. "Minister, have you heard any of the witnesses in this case?"

"Not personally, no." Fudge said as Macnair glared at the Padawan.

"Well then you should be aware, I was there, McCarthy wasn't paying attention when Hagrid told the class, 'You do _not_ want to insult a Hippogriff, they're very proud creatures'."

"All of that was said in the hearin'!" Macnair spat.

"Put your blood-thirst on hold, will you!" Andrew shouted, Macnair growled and lifted his new axe menacingly.

"Enough!" called the Committee member. "Young man, the hearing is over, the appeal is over, the Committee has come to its decision and it is final!" he told Andrew firmly.

"AND IT'S THE WRONG ONE!" Andrew bellowed, a nearby boulder cracking loudly.

"Andrew, please calm down," Dumbledore pleaded quietly, placing a hand on the Jedi's shoulder.

"Young man, you're being insubordinate!" Fudge fumed. "Return to the school at once, or I shall charge you with obstruction of justice!"

Andrew growled. "You're about to commit a _miscarriage_ of justice." he seethed.

"Andrew, please." Dumbledore said softly

Andrew tensed and looked over his shoulder at Buckbeak, then he sighed and walked away. "And please go straight to your common room, Andrew!" Dumbledore called after him.

Andrew caught up to his friends, Ron seemed to be having a lot of trouble with his rat, but all four of them froze when, behind them, they heard the loud thud of an axe.

"Requiesce in pace," Andrew sighed in Latin.

Harry made to head back to Hagrid's side, but Ron stopped him, Hermione was close to tears again, but Ron simply said 'come on' and they turned to head back to the castle.

Ron was making the group move slowly, but only because Scabbers was being such a nuisance by _still_ trying to escape. "What's the matter with you, you stupid rat? Stay still – OUCH! He bit me!"

Just then, they realised why Scabbers was so scared, Crookshanks showed up, Scabbers wriggled free of Ron's grip and ran, Crookshanks dived after him and Ron ducked out from under the cloak, running after the both of them.

Harry and Hermione ditched the cloak and ran too. Andrew picked up the cloak and followed. They caught up to Ron as he dived onto his rat and forced him into his pocket. Just then, a huge black dog came out of nowhere, pounced on Harry, knocking him over, and started to go for Ron.

It grabbed his wrist in its jaws, dragging him away, Harry moved to grab the dog when a branch smacked him in the face. "Oh no, not again!" Andrew groaned as he dodged out of the way of the second attack, from the Whomping Willow.

 **A/N How much would you hate me if I'd stopped it there?**

Harry, Hermione and Andrew used Lumos, Andrew with his lightsaber and the others with their wands. They watched, helpless and dodging the tree, as the dog kept dragging Ron towards a gap in the roots of the tree, they back-peddled out of range of the branches, watching as Ron's foot hooked itself into a root, Ron was trying to keep the dog from taking him any further.

With a sickening crack, Ron's foot broke and disappeared. "Harry, we've got to go for help," Hermione wheezed, her shoulder bleeding.

"No! That thing's big enough to eat him, we haven't got time!" Harry shouted back.

"Well if you have an idea of how to get down there, I'm listening." Andrew shot back.

"If that dog can manage it, we can!"

Just then, Crookshanks darted forward and pressed his front paws on a knot on the trunk, causing the entire tree to freeze. "Crookshanks?" Hermione whispered, gripping the boys arms. "How did he know?"

"He's friends with that dog, the night before the final, I saw them walking through the grounds together," Harry told them grimly. "Come on, and keep your wands handy." With that he ducked under a motionless branch and into the hole.

Crookshanks led the way along a tunnel, Hermione wondered aloud where they were and Harry told them about this tunnel being on the Marauder's Map, that it led off the edge of the map. They kept following the cat in front of them, ducking low so as not to bang their heads.

When they stepped through a small opening, Andrew took a stab at where they were. "Is this the Shrieking Shack?"

The other two looked around the dusty room. "I think it might be." Hermione answered.

They moved slowly, keeping their eyes peeled for anything. "Ghosts didn't do that," Harry whispered, drawing their attention to a large chair, huge chunks had been ripped out of it, and one leg had been ripped off entirely.

Andrew then deactivated his Lumos Blade. "What are you doing?" Hermione hissed.

"Lumos is one of the few spells that is completely harmless," Andrew started, reactivating his sapphire blade, "when used through my lightsaber."

At that moment, there was a creak from overhead, Ron and the dog had to be upstairs. The three of them crept into the hall and up the staircase, when they got to the top, they found one door open, they barged in and found Ron on the floor, clutching his leg while Crookshanks purred from the bed.

"Ron, are you alright?" Andrew asked.

"Where's that dog?" Harry asked him.

"Not a dog," Ron whimpered, gritting his teeth in pain. "Harry, it's a trap! He's the dog, he's an Animagus!" SLAM! The door shut behind them, Sirius Black was there, holding Ron's wand.

"Expelliarmus!" he croaked, sending Harry's and Hermione's wands into the air, and Andrew's lightsaber across the room. Black caught the wands and Crookshanks caught the lightsaber in his paws, placing it on the bed before laying on it.

"I thought you would come to help your friend," Black said hoarsely, sounding like someone who hadn't spoken in a while. "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you, not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful … it will make everything much easier..."

Harry made to attack Black, but Andrew held him back with a hand on his chest, something seemed off. "Let go of me!" Harry growled.

"No, Harry. I sense a disturbance," Andrew narrowed his eyes at Black, for a man intent on murdering a teenager, Black seemed awfully calm, too calm.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us, too!" Ron said fiercely, getting painfully to his feet.

"Lie down," Black said quietly. "You'll damage that leg even more."

"He's right Ron, lie down and let me do the talking." Andrew said, helping his friend to the bed as Hermione took over holding Harry back.

"You'll have to kill all four of us!" Ron said, trying to shout and failing.

"There will only be one murder tonight," Black said with a grin, Harry fought against Hermione's grip, forcing Andrew to hold him back again.

"Why's that?" Harry spat. "Didn't care last time, did you? Didn't mind slaughtering all those Muggles to get at Pettigrew … What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"That's _enough_ , Harry!" Andrew said, Harry broke free of his friends and lunged at Black, but Andrew held out his hand, catching Harry in mid leap and suspending him in the air.

Andrew pulled Harry back gently and placed him on the bed, next to Ron. Black sighed, "You want to kill me Harry?"

"You killed my parents," Harry said, his voice wavering with emotion.

"I don't deny it," Black said, very quietly. "But if you knew the whole story..."

"The whole story?" Harry repeated, he was about to say more, but Andrew cut him off.

"Remember last year, Harry. Never trust second-hand info or guesswork, let's hear the man out."

Before Black could say a word, there was the sound of footsteps downstairs, Hermione started screaming that Black was there and in a moment, Lupin was in the room. He looked around, seeing Ron with his broken leg, Harry being held in place with the Force, Hermione cowering by the bed and Andrew with a questioning look on his face.

Then Lupin turned to Black. "Where is he Sirius?" he asked, Black simply pointed at Ron. Lupin followed his gaze, then turned to Black and embraced him, like a long-lost brother.

"Somebody want to tell me what the fudge is going on?" Andrew asked.

"He's in league with Black!" Hermione screeched. "And he's a werewolf!"

"Okay, don't care about the werewolf part." Andrew said, annoyed. "It's not like you to accuse someone without evidence Hermione."

"How long have you known?" Lupin asked calmly.

"Ages," Hermione whispered, looking down after what Andrew said. "Ever since I did Professor Snape's essay..."

"He'll be delighted," said Lupin coolly. "He set that essay hoping someone would realise what my symptoms meant. Did you check the lunar chart and realise that I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you realise that the Boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both," said Hermione, letting out a sniffle.

Lupin laughed. "You are the cleverest witch of your age, that I have ever met, Hermione."

"I should have told someone." Hermione answered him.

"The staff already know."

"Dumbledore hired you, knowing you're a werewolf? Is he mad?" Ron gasped.

"What does it matter?" Andrew demanded. "So he's got a condition, I'd be willing to bet that in his human form, he's no different than you or me Ron, so just can it!"

"But he's been helping Black to get into the castle!" Hermione screamed.

"No I have not," Lupin said, trying to keep things calm. "Here," he took their wands and lightsaber from Black and Crookshanks, and passed them back to their owners, handing over his own wand. "Now you're armed, we're not. Will you listen now?"

Harry frowned, Andrew released him from his grip. "If you haven't been helping him," he said, glancing furiously at Black, "how did you know he was here?"

"The map," said Lupin. "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it."

"You know how to work it?" Harry asked, growing suspicious again.

"Of course I know how to work it," said Lupin, his voice showing impatience. "I helped to write it. I'm Moony – that was my friends' nickname for me at school. The important thing is, I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you four might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his Hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?"

"Let me guess, the Invisibility Cloak doesn't hide you from the map." Andrew said, crossing his arms and casually leaning against a bedpost.

"Correct, and before you ask, I've seen your father use that cloak a number of times, so yes, I knew about it." Lupin answered. "I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back towards the castle. But now you had someone else with you."

Harry was about to deny this when Andrew shushed him.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," said Lupin, he'd been pacing for a while now. "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"Who exactly?" Andrew asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this.

Lupin stopped pacing and strode over to Ron. "Could I have a look at your rat?" he asked.

"What?" Ron spluttered. "What's Scabbers got to do with this?"

"Everything," said Lupin, urgently. "Could I see him, please?"

Ron hesitated, then he pulled Scabbers out of his robes by his tail. The rat was thrashing around, trying to escape, Crookshanks hissed as Lupin came closer, he stared at Scabbers intently.

"What?" Ron asked again, holding Scabbers close and looking scared. "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

Suddenly, for the first time since they met, Andrew sensed something new. "That's no rat!" everyone looked at him as he glared at Scabbers. "The thoughts I'm sensing, they're too intelligent for a mere rat. How could I miss it for nearly three years?!"

"You're right," Black said, speaking for the first time since Lupin arrived. "He's a wizard. An Anumagus. He's Peter Pettigrew."


	7. Marauders, Servants and Kisses

Chapter 7 – Marauders, Servants and Kisses

"You've lost your minds!" Ron exploded, Scabbers was still attacking Ron in his bid for freedom. Andrew pulled the rat from his friend's grip, suspending him in mid air.

"This is ridiculous!" Hermione agreed.

"You killed Peter Pettigrew twelve years ago!" Harry snapped, pointing an accusing finger at Black.

Black's face twitched. "I meant to," he growled, baring his yellow teeth, "but little Peter got the better of me … not this time, though!"

With that, Black lunged for the floating rat, but Andrew lifted him higher so that Black couldn't reach. Lupin grabbed Black and fought to restrain him. "Sirius, NO! WAIT! You can't do it just like that, they need to understand, we've got to explain.."

"We can explain afterwards!" Black snarled, still clawing up at Scabbers.

"They've – got – a – right – to – know – everything!" Lupin panted. "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts even _I_ don't understand!" Lupin was trying anything to get Black to calm down. "And Harry – you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!"

That made Black stop struggling. "Fine, tell them what you want Remus, but make it quick! I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for..."

"If you do that, you'll be running forever," Andrew said slowly, as if he were talking to a sulking child.

"I've had enough of this. I'm off." Ron said, trying to get up, but Lupin pressed a gentle hand on his shoulder and pushed him back to the bed.

"You're going to hear us out, Ron," he said quietly. "Andrew, you keep a hold on Peter while you all listen."

"Certainly," Andrew said curtly, his grip on the rat holding steady.

"HE'S NOT PETER, HE'S SCABBERS!" Ron yelled, losing his temper. Harry turned to Lupin, ignoring Black.

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," he said. "A whole street full of them..."

"They didn't see what they thought they saw!" said Black, savagely, his eyes never leaving the rat as it struggled in the air.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter," Lupin explained with a nod. "I believed it myself – until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies … Peter's alive." Lupin pointed up. "He's right there, Harry."

Harry and Ron looked at each other, silently agreeing that Black and Lupin were both mad.

Hermione spoke up, in a trembling, would-be calm voice, trying to get Lupin to talk sense. "But Professor Lupin … Scabbers can't be Pettigrew … it just can't be true, you know it can't..."

"And why not, Hermione?" Lupin asked, sounding just the same as he did in class.

"Because … because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework – the Ministry keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register..."

"Just because it's the law to register, doesn't mean _everyone_ abides with it." Andrew cut in, seeing the obvious. "Think about it, we now know that Black is an Animagus, and I'd bet good money that when you looked up a list of Animagi, Black wasn't on it."

Hermione nodded, then a look of comprehension crossed her face. "And if he were on the register, he would have been caught in his animal form."

"Well done, both of you." laughed Lupin. "I would give you both points but we're not on school grounds."

"If you're going to tell them the story, Remus, get on with it!" Black snarled. "I've waited for twelve years, I'm not waiting any longer!"

"Alright," Lupin sighed. "But you'll have to help me, Sirius, I only know where to begin."

Just then there was a creak of a floor board, and the door moved a little on its own. "This place is haunted!" Ron whimpered.

"No, it's not," Lupin replied. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted … the screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me." he brushed some of his greying hair out of his face. "That's where all of this starts, with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten."

Ron was about to interrupt but Hermione shushed him, watching Lupin intently. "I was a very small boy when I received my bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The Potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform..."

"Is … is it painful?" Andrew asked, curious and concerned.

"The transformation? Yes, unlike becoming an Animagus, the transformation into a werewolf is _not_ a willing one, so the body naturally resists." Lupin answered. "But with the Wolfsbane Potion, at least, I can just curl up in my office as a harmless wolf."

"The Wolfsbane Potion, as I said, is only a recent discovery." Lupin continued. "Before I started to drink it, I became a fully fledged monster once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other patents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me."

"That's just sick, it's not like you _asked_ to be a werewolf!" Andrew snapped, exasperated.

"Thank you, Andrew." Lupin said with a grateful nod. "Luckily for me, Dumbledore became Headmaster, he was as sympathetic as you. He said that, as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school..." he sighed and looked at Harry and Andrew. "I told you and Harry, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts."

Andrew nodded. "It was planted _because_ you came to Hogwarts." he said, clicking his fingers. "That's _brilliant_! You were brought here once a month to hide out, and the tree planted so no one would find you."

Lupin nodded. "Quite the detective," he complimented the Padawan.

Andrew shrugged, "It's a hobby."

Lupin then looked around the room miserably. "I have just told you that the transformations were painful, they were more so when I was a boy, because even then, I became a fully grown werewolf."

"Ouch!" Ron exclaimed.

"Quite. Also, because I was separated from humans to bite, I would bite and scratch myself." Lupin motioned to the scars on his face. "The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore even encouraged the rumour … even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it..."

"But, apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black … Peter Pettigrew … and, of course, your farther, Harry – James Potter."

"How long did it take _them_ to notice?" Andrew asked, trying to move the tale along. He could sense another presence in the shack.

"Not long, I'm afraid. I made up all sorts of stories, mainly about my mother being ill and me needing to visit her. I was terrified that they would abandon me if they ever knew the truth. But they did find out, much in the same way you did, Hermione." Lupin then smiled broadly. "But they didn't desert me at all. Instead they did something for me, something that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."

"My dad, too?" asked Harry, amazed.

"Yes, indeed," answered Lupin. "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here, were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong – one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."

"Nice to have some company," Andrew mused.

"Exactly, they couldn't do so as humans, I would have killed them, or worse. Instead, they kept me company as animals. They would all sneak out, under James' Invisibility Cloak, and transform. Peter, being the smallest, would sneak up to the tree and press the knot that freezes it, then they would join me." Lupin told them.

Black grew impatient and ordered Lupin to get on with it. Lupin then told them about the adventures they had, how soon enough they were leaving the Shrieking Shack and wondering the school grounds and the village. "I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did. And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."

"Ha! Wormtail, rat's tail. Nice." Andrew guffawed.

Harry started to ask what sort of animal his dad could turn into, but Hermione cut him off.

"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?" she ranted.

"A thought that still haunts me," said Lupin heavily. He went on to say there were a few near misses and that the Marauders just laughed them off. "I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course..." He went on to explain why he felt that way, how he essentially blamed himself for his friends becoming Animagi, how he had wanted to tell Dumbledore about Sirius, but was too afraid of also telling the Headmaster everything.

"… so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along." Lupin finished.

"Snape?" said Black harshly, taking his eyes off Scabbers for the first time, looking at Lupin. "What's Snape got to do with it?"

Lupin explained that Snape was a teacher, and that he had been in their year at school. He explained something that made Snape's hatred of Harry suddenly obvious. "… you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me."

He then told them how Snape had seen him with Madam Pomfrey, crossing the grounds to the tree, Sirius had told Snape how to get to the Shrieking Shack, James had heard of it and went to stop Snape, but not before Snape had seen Lupin in his wolf form.

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," Harry said slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"

"That's right," sneered Snape as he suddenly burst into the room, shoot a disarming charm at Lupin with his wand and then pointed his wand at Black. "You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" Snape asked, his eyes glittering. "I've just been to your office, Lupin. You forgot to take your Potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did … lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

Lupin tried to say something, but Snape continued, only to stop when he heard slow, mocking clapping.

"Well done, idiot, you've done it again." Andrew said.

"How _dare_ you speak to me, a _teacher_ , in such a manner!" Snape spat.

"Oh, let me think, where the hell are we? Oh yeah! We're _not_ on school grounds, so I don't give a shit _who_ you think you are!" Andrew snapped, raising his voice.

"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" Snape shrieked, but then he was thrown across the room as lightning shot out of Andrew's fingertips. Hermione screamed as she realised what Andrew was doing. Snape slid down the far wall, his robes smoking slightly, a look of pure shock on his face.

"Now," Andrew said, panting, "we are all going to sit, quietly and _calmly_ while Black and Lupin continue their story. We were in the middle of a conversation, before you barged in." Snape opened his mouth and Andrew nearly lost it, again. "SHUT YOUR FUCKING BIG MOUTH AND OPEN YOUR TINY EARS!" He bellowed, lightning crackling around his hands. "You say even _one_ word, and I _will_ kill you."

Snape shut his mouth and remained motionless. Hermione was quivering. "You attacked a teacher..."

"No, I attacked a rude, arrogant idiot who thought he'd get a little revenge without using his miniscule brain!" Andrew snapped, testing Snape to see if he'd take the bait, he didn't. "Good boy, now, Professor Lupin, I believe we were in the middle of something."

"I'm still not convinced," Harry said.

"Then it's time we offered you some proof," answered Black, reaching up for Scabbers.

"Come off it," Ron said weakly. "Are you trying to say you broke out of Azkaban, just to get your hands on _Scabbers_? I mean ..." he looked to his friends for support. "Okay, say Pettigrew _could_ turn into a rat – there are millions of rats – how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," said Lupin, turning to Black and frowning a little. "How _did_ you find out where he was?"

Black picked up a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed out and showed everyone, it was a picture of Ron's family, announcing Mr Weasley's winning a prize at the Ministry. And right there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"Fudge said you'd asked for the paper from him, and you'd been heard muttering 'He's at Hogwarts' over and over in your sleep." Andrew breathed. "It wasn't Harry, it was Ron's _rat_!"

"My God," breathed Lupin, looking from the paper to Scabbers and back. "His front paw..."

"What about it?" asked Ron, defiantly.

"He's got a toe missing," said Black.

"Of course," Lupin gasped, "so simple … so _brilliant_ … he cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed," answered Black. "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear, that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself – and sped down into the sewer with the other rats..."

"And all that was left was a finger," Andrew finished. "Or so I heard."

"Look, Scabbers probably just had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages."

"Twelve years, I'd bet," Andrew answered.

"Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?" Lupin asked Ron, Snape was frowning more and more.

"We – we've just been taking good care of him!" Ron answered, losing ground on his argument.

"Ron, wake up! You told me that Scabbers seemed to get ill after you got back from Egypt, isn't that when you'd first heard that Black had escaped?" Andrew snapped.

Black then explained how Crookshanks had been helping him, how he'd stolen Neville's list of passwords and tried to catch Scabbers so he could bring the rat to Black.

"So _that's_ why you were over Ron's bed, everyone thought you'd just gotten the wrong one." Andrew shook his head as he said this. "Mel and I have been losing sleep over _nothing_! You bastard! You owe me big time pal!"

Black laughed. "I'm sorry about that, it's just a shame that Peter then got wind of what was going on, and ran for it … this cat – Crookshanks, did you call him? - told me that Peter had left blood on the sheets … I suppose he bit himself … well, faking his own death had worked once..."

"And why did he fake his death?" Harry demanded, growing angry again. "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"No," Lupin said, trying to sooth Harry.

"And now you've come to finish him off!"

"Yes, I have," said Black, looking evilly at Scabbers.

"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted.

"Thank you, Potter." Snape said, moving to get up, only to gag and clutch at his throat.

"I thought I told you to keep your mouth shut!" Andrew yelled.

"Andrew, please release him," Lupin said, knowing a Force Choke when he saw one. Andrew released Snape and Snape sat back down, sulking a little. "Harry, don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your patents, and Peter tracked him down – but it was the other way around, don't you see? _Peter_ betrayed your mother and father – Sirius tracked _Peter_ down..."

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry roared. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP, HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

"Harry … I as good as killed them," Black croaked, he and Harry both looked on the verge of tears. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me … I'm to blame, I know it … the night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right."

By now, Andrew and Harry were putting the pieces together. "You were the obvious choice, you thought Voldemort would come for you, so you suggested Peter, to throw Voldemort off the scent." Andrew surmised.

"Only for Peter to turn out to be Voldemort's servant, all along?" Harry asked.

"Exactly, Harry. But there is only one way to prove it, together Sirius?" Lupin asked, Black nodded and they both pointed their wands at the floating rat. There was a flash of blue light, and Scabbers started to morph into the form of a short, balding man with bucked teeth and grubby skin.

"Good God!" Snape exclaimed, jumping to his feet, Andrew let it slide, now that he could see the truth.

"Well, hello, Peter," Lupin said pleasantly, like this sort of thing was normal.

"S-Sirius … R-Remus ..." Pettigrew's voice was squeaky, like the rat he had recently been, his small, watery eyes kept darting to the door and back. "My friends … my old friends..."

Black's wand arm rose, but Andrew stepped in the way. "Like I said, Mr Black, if he dies, you're still a murderer," he said quietly as he placed a hand on his wrist, gently pushing his arm back down. "Let him live, then you can be free."

"You-you don't believe him, do you … He tried to kill me." Pettigrew whimpered.

"So we've heard," Lupin said, coldly. "I'd like to clear up one of two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so..."

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew shrieked suddenly, pointing a middle finger at Black, making it just that little more obvious that he had a missing finger. "He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me, too … you've got to help me, Re.." Andrew started choking Pettigrew, only for a second so he would shut up.

"Let him go, Payne," Snape said, sweeping forward and grabbing Andrew's wrist. "There's no sense in _you_ killing him."

"Never planned to, Professor," Andrew said politely, having already released Pettigrew. "Just wanted to shut him up."

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," said Lupin.

"Sorted things out?" croaked Pettigrew, rubbing his neck. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

"You knew Black was going to break out of Azkaban?" asked Snape, rolling his eyes at how pathetic this defence was.

"When nobody has ever done it before?" added Lupin, frowning.

"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He Who Must Not Be Named taught him a few tricks!"

Black started to laugh, mirthlessly. "Voldemort, teach me tricks?" Pettigrew flinched when Black said the name. "What, scared to hear your old master's name?" Black asked. "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't happy with you, are they?"

"Don't know – what you mean, Sirius..." muttered Pettigrew, he was sweating badly.

"You haven't been hiding from _me_ for twelve years," said Black. "You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter … they all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them … I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep..."

"Alright, Black, I think you've made your point," Snape said, letting out a shudder.

"There's something I don't understand," Hermione said.

"For once," muttered Snape.

"Snape, I haven't slept this month, please don't test me!" Andrew groaned in exasperation.

"If Scabbers, I mean, this man … was one of You-Know-Who's supporters … well, he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for the last three years, why didn't he try to hurt Harry?"

"There!" screamed Pettigrew, pointing at Hermione with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"

"Dumbledore," Andrew answered, seething. "You're not about to even reveal yourself under his nose, let alone kill for someone who's half-dead!"

"You'd want to be quite sure that Voldemort was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, would you?" Black added. "Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you Peter?"

"If I were on your side, I'd say your plan was brilliant, but right now I'm struggling not to kill you myself!" Andrew spat.

While Pettigrew stood there, opening and closing his mouth, Hermione had a question. "Er – Mr Black – Sirius?" she said timidly. Black jumped at being addressed so politely, like he'd forgotten what it was like. "If you don't mind me asking, how – how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

"Now that you mention it, Miss Granger, I'm quite curious myself," Snape sneered at Black.

Black frowned, trying to figure out how to answer. He told them that he didn't know, that he guessed that knowing he was innocent, kept him sane. It wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of him. With that knowledge, he was able to keep his powers, and occasionally turn into a dog in his cell, the Dementors couldn't tell the difference. Once Black had realised where Pettigrew was, he waited for the Dementors to bring him food, and slipped out of his cell, in the form of a dog.

"I swam as a dog back to the mainland … I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog..." Black explained.

"You came to Mongolia Crescent and the Quidditch match as a dog!" Harry blurted out.

"Yes, I had to see a good old Quidditch match again, you fly as good as your father did, Harry. And that Ravenclaw match! I've never seen tactics like that outside of professional level!"

"Thank you, I was inspired by my pilots training," Andrew said with a bow.

" _You_ came up with those moves?" Sirius asked.

"I think we're getting a little off-topic now," Lupin said, grinning as he interrupted Andrew's response.

"You're right, Remus," Black answered, then he looked Harry in the eye. "Believe me, Harry, believe me. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

All eyes turned to Harry, who opened his mouth to speak as a tear rolled down his cheek. He couldn't form words, so instead he nodded.

Pettigrew then fell to his knees and started to plead with anyone who would listen. "There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them!" Black spat at him.

"Remus! You don't believe this … Wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?" Pettigrew asked, holding his hands in a sign of prayer.

"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter," answered Lupin. "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus," Black said back.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Lupin was now rolling up his tattered sleeves. "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing _you_ were the spy?"

"Of course," Black was grinning as he, too, rolled up his sleeves. "Shall we kill him together?"

"No," Harry and Andrew said.

"My parents wouldn't have wanted him killed," Harry continued, "we'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors. He can go to Azkaban … just don't kill him."

"Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "Thank you – it's more than I deserve – thank you!"

Harry brought his knee up sharply, colliding it with Pettigrew's chin. "Don't touch me!" he shouted, following up his knee with a sharp kick to Pettigrew's chest. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because I don't think either of my parents would want their friends to become killers, just for you."

Snape almost looked impressed with Harry, Lupin and Black lowered their wands. "You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Black. "But think … think what he did..."

"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does..."

Pettigrew was tied up by Lupin and Snape offered to drag him out. "If you try to transform, Peter, we _will_ kill you. You agree, Harry?" Black said, Harry nodded.

Andrew ran downstairs, smashed a broken chair apart and used some chords from Snape's wand to make a splint for Ron's leg. "Professor Snape? Mind if I help you with 'that'?" Ron asked, he'd taken Scabber's true identity personally.

"Very well." Snape answered, conjuring manacles so that Pettigrew could be chained to the both of them.

Crookshanks led the way down the stairs and through the tunnel, while they were walking, Black remembered something.

"You said you've not slept this month, how are you not exhausted?"

"I suffer from 'Nodormiunus', once for a random month every year, I don't sleep," Andrew explained over his shoulder. "In our first year I went six weeks without sleep, last summer I went seven … good God and holy Yoda, I hope I'm not aiming for eight this year!"

"Must be boring," Black answered.

"Believe me, it is," Andrew sighed. "Thankfully Dumbledore lets me roam the castle when it's 'that time of year', but it's still lonely if I'm honest. The worst part is when I _do_ sleep."

"What happens then?" Lupin asked, curious.

"I go into a week-long coma to catch up."

"That'll be during the summer holidays," Hermione said, quickly doing the maths in her head. " _If_ you stay up for more than four weeks, otherwise it'll be last year all over again … you don't have that car this year, do you?"

Andrew laughed. "No, she's still in London, but I know what you mean, I'll let my Master know when I get back to the temple."

Snape, Pettigrew and Ron had to travel down the tunnel, sideways and single file, Lupin kept his wand trained on Pettigrew and the others followed behind.

"You know what turning in Pettigrew means," Sirius said to Harry.

"You're free," Harry answered, repeating Andrew's logic.

"Yes, but … I don't know if anyone ever told you this, but I'm your Godfather," Sirius continued

"Yeah … I'd heard," Harry said, conscious of Snape listening in, he didn't want to admit he'd overheard Hagrid and Fudge in the Three Broomsticks.

"Well … your parents appointed me as your guardian," Sirius said, sounding like someone who was struggling to put his words the right way. "If anything happened to them..."

Nobody said anything, Harry waited for Sirius to continue.

"I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your Aunt and Uncle," Sirius went on. "But … well … think about it. Once my name's cleared … if you wanted a … a different home..."

"What? Live with you?" Harry was so happy he didn't even notice when he bumped his head on the tunnel ceiling. "Leave the Dursleys?"

"Of course. I thought you wouldn't want to," Sirius said, missing Harry's tone.

"Mr Black, you misunderstand." Andrew called. "When you met us in Mongolia Crescent, we were sort of running away from his guardians."

"Seriously?" Sirius asked Harry.

"When can I move in?" Harry asked, not missing a beat. Sirius broke into the first true smile they had seen and swept Harry into a hug.

Nobody said a word then, until they reached the end of the tunnel, Crookshanks slipped through first and must have pressed the knot, because Snape, Pettigrew and Ron clambered up without getting attacked.

"You should have seen what happened the first time I met this tree," Andrew said.

"You mean when you crashed into it?" Snape called.

"It wasn't a crash!" Andrew shouted back. "More an … uncontrolled landing." he finished lamely.

Sirius laughed. "I bet the tree didn't like it."

"There's still bits of the car left, if you know where to look." Ron called, having just noticed a wing flapping in the light breeze.

Once they were all out, they started making their way towards the castle, Pettigrew wheezing and whimpering all the way. "One wrong move, Peter," Lupin threatened, pointing his wand into Pettigrew's back, Snape was also pointing his wand at Pettigrew's chest.

The castle lights were getting larger and larger as the group got closer. Then a cloud shifted, the lights from the castle were drowned out by the brightness of the moon. Everyone froze as Snape's earlier words rang in their ears. 'You forgot to take your Potion tonight'.

"Black, get them out of here!" Snape shouted, trying to unshackle himself from Pettigrew and Ron.

"Snape, NO!" Andrew shouted. "Ron won't be able to hold Pettigrew, get moving, I've got this!"

With that, the Jedi tackled Lupin, trying to get him away from the others. "Of all the times to _not_ have my web-shooters!" he complained as Sirius transformed to try and help as Lupin let out a long howl.

"No you don't!" Snape snarled, pointing his wand at Pettigrew. Pettigrew then stomped on his foot and shoved his wrist, Snape's wand let out a flash and Crookshanks was laying on the ground, unconscious.

Ron plunged his hand into his robes, trying to reach his wand, but he was too late. With a 'pop' Pettigrew disappeared, he had transformed and darted off through the grass.

At that moment, Andrew flew back into view, Lupin's jaws were inches from the Jedi's face as his hands were pressing against the werewolf's chest. Andrew brought his feet up and then used his hands to charge up a Force Push, sending the beast flying. The Whomping Willow, having woken up, then smacked the flying werewolf and sent him soaring into the Forbidden Forest.

"Sirius, he's gone, Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled. The dog nodded and ran off after the rat.

Panting, Andrew got to his feet. "Dude needed a breath mint!" he growled. "Come on, we'd better get Ron up to Madam Pomfrey."

Snape nodded and started pulling Ron to his feet, that's when they heard a dog whining and Harry took off running towards it.

"You two get Ron to hospital!" Andrew ordered, taking off after Harry and ignoring Snape as he ordered the two boys to come back.

When they caught up to Sirius, they found him being subjected to Force Lightning. "JAX STOP!" Andrew bellowed at him, sending a Force Push to knock him back.

"What the hell, Payne!" Jax demanded, igniting his red blade.

"He's innocent, we've got … well _had_ evidence," Andrew explained, igniting his own blue blade. "I _can't_ let you kill him."

Jax seemed to consider this, much as he was growing to … tolerate Payne, he still had his orders, kill Black or die trying. "I'm sorry … but I still have my orders." he genuinely looked sorry.

"Then I'm sorry too," Andrew said, getting between Jax and Sirius, getting into his preferred stance.

"Make it convincing," Jax muttered to him, Andrew was briefly confused, then Jax charged at him.

Andrew blocked and Jax sent a feeble kick to his side. Andrew dodged it and swiped his foot at Jax's head. They continued to trade blows, Andrew quickly realising that Jax fully intended to lose this fight, but not easily. He punched Jax in the face three times and as he reeled from the blow, the Sith swept Andrew's legs from under him, as Andrew hit the ground, Jax plunged his saber down, barely Andrew's right shoulder, causing the Jedi to cry out in pain.

Andrew kicked the Sith away and kipped up onto his feet. The two locked sabers again and traded blows, weapons humming, feet and fists flying. Jax gained an upper hand by channelling lighting through his blade, stunning the Jedi long enough to spin and plunge his lightsaber into Andrew belly.

Andrew screamed in pain, he could feel that the blade hadn't hit anything vital, and that Jax hadn't decreased the power on his weapon. Uncertain if it was more his luck or Jax's training, Andrew sent Force Lightning into Jax's chest, forcing him backwards. The Padawan checked to make sure his blade was on minimum power, knowing this was going to hurt like a bitch, he leapt forward and thrust his blade through Jax's heart, the pain of his attack rendering the Sith unconscious.

"He's beaten, come on, we've gotta check Sirius." Harry told him, Andrew nodded, clutching his wounded abdomen, but then he froze, as did Harry.

Hundreds of Dementors were swooping across the lake, they were coming from all sides. It seemed the battle between Andrew and Jax had attracted their attention. Luckily Andrew's wand was still inside his lightsaber, because his right arm was otherwise useless now.

"( _Harry's going to be free of the Dursleys!_ )" Andrew thought to himself. "Expecto Patronum!"

Harry nodded and moved to guard Sirius' other side as Andrew swung his Patronus blade at the nearest Dementor, killing it instantly.

The Dementors didn't like that and, as one, lowered their hoods, intent on using their Kiss on the Jedi, Harry fell to his knees, losing consciousness as Andrew struck down Dememtor after Dementor.

One Dementor then grabbed the Jedi from behind, gripping tightly over his belly wound. Andrew dropped his lightsaber as the pain overwhelmed him, he dropped to one knee, bringing the Dementor down on top of him. Harry and Andrew were both about to be subjected to the Dementors' Kiss, when a Silvery Stag and Husky charged through them, driving them off.

With the Dementors gone, Harry and Andrew watched the Patronus' float back across the lake to two waiting individuals, but before they could understand who had saved them, Harry blacked out and Andrew flopped back onto the grass, exhausted from his wound and the effect of the Dementors, but still fully alert.


	8. Secrets and Homeward Bound

Chapter 8 – Secrets and Homeward Bound

Some time after the lake, Andrew was in Hospital, Harry and Jax were nearby, still unconscious, his abdomen had been mended, nothing vital was severed, and Hermione and Ron were nearby. Ron was on a bed with his foot in a caste and Hermione was in tears.

"What's happened?" Andrew groaned, holding his side in pain and catching Madam Pomfrey's attention.

"Not to worry, here, eat this," she said, handing him chocolate. "They've caught Black, he's upstairs, the Dementors will be performing the Kiss any moment."

"WHAT!" Harry exploded, sitting bolt upright.

Andrew heaved himself from the bed, his guts feeling about ready to rip themselves open. He called his lightsaber to his hand and started moving to the door. Just before he got there, Madam Pomfrey's shouting caught the attention of Fudge and Snape, who were standing outside.

"What's going on in here, you boys should be in bed," Fudge said.

"Minister, listen!" Harry said loudly. "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death! Ask Snape, he saw the man too! You can't let the Dementors do that thing to Sirius, he's..."

"Harry, Harry, you're very confused..." Fudge began, but he was cut off by the activation of a lightsaber.

"Minister, do we _look_ confused?" Andrew asked, wincing. "I believe you found a few Dementors dead by the lake, so believe me when I say, if you value your life, step aside."

His voice was so calm that the colour drained from Fudge's face, Snape frowned and Andrew glared at him. "( _You lying bastard, you_ know _what you saw, and you've lied to get some medal!_ )"

"( _You would rather I be sent to Azkaban for being some lunatic? You honestly think I would be believed without evidence? I said what I had to, in order to keep_ you _from being imprisoned, after all, nobody has_ ever _killed a Dementor before._ )" Snape answered, causing Andrew to relax.

At that point, Dumbledore walked in, after a brief complaint from the matron, Dumbledore asked her, Fudge and Snape to leave.

As soon as they were alone, the three of them launched into explanations. "Snape's lied to the Minister.." Hermione said, wringing her hands.

"Please listen to me," Dumbledore ordered calmly. "Severus has only lied, in order to keep the three of you from getting into trouble. There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word and Professor Snape's, sadly, the words of such a wild tale, will not convince anybody."

"Except you, Professor," Andrew said, deactivating his lightsaber as Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, regardless of all the evidence saying otherwise, I believe you," Dumbledore said quietly. "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister for Magic ..."

Dumbledore paused to let the news sink in. "What we need, is more _time_."

"But.." Hermione started, but her eyes suddenly became very round. "OH!"

"Now, pay attention," Dumbledore continued, speaking very low and clearly. "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, the three of you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, all of you. _You must not be seen._ Miss Granger, you know the law – you know what is at stake … you – must – not – be – seen."

The boys looked at each other, clueless. Dumbledore turned on his heel and strode back to the door, he looked over his shoulder at he got there.

"I am going to lock you in. It is..." he looked at his watch, "five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three turns should do it. Good luck."

Hermione then explained how she had been getting to all her classes during the year, she had been using something called a Time-Turner, as she pulled the device from inside the collar of her robes.

"It's not going to be big enough to fit all three of us," she said.

"Easily fixed," Andrew said, pulling his wand from his lightsaber. "Duplicus." he said, making a perfect copy of the Time-Turner, a plan formulating in his mind. "Okay, Hermione, how do I work this thing."

"Just hold the hourglass and turn it over three times." she said as she placed the chain over Harry's head, doing just that and vanishing. Andrew put the chain around his neck, copied her and after a moment, he was standing next to his friends.

Hermione was about to lead, a very confused, Harry out of the empty ward, when Andrew grabbed them both by the back of their collars and dragged them behind the door, just as a three-hours younger Andrew ran by so quickly that he was almost invisible.

"What exactly is going on?" Harry asked, pinching his leg.

"We've gone back in time," Andrew explained, thinking it obvious as the gears in his mind kept spinning.

"Three hours back, to be precise." Hermione added.

"But..." Harry started.

"Shh! Listen! Someone's coming!" Hermione whispered. "I think it might be us!"

"( _The coast is clear, move it!_ )" they all heard Andrew tell them. Andrew placed two fingers to his temple and, silently, told his friends not to answer.

"Are you telling me, we're inside the hospital ward, _and_ we're walking down to Hagrid's too?" Harry asked.

" _That's_ what we were doing three hours ago!" Hermione exclaimed quietly.

"What I'm not sure about, is what Dumbledore expects us to be doing _now_." Andrew mused. "Being _here_ and _now_ isn't going to save Sirius."

"Well three hours ago … now..." Harry was getting a headache, trying to get his mind around the past, present and future tense. "We were heading down to see Hagrid before..."

"Buckbeak!" Andrew and Hermione said together.

"Of course, we rescue Buckbeak, then fly up to Flitwick's office and rescue Sirius!" Harry said, snapping his fingers together.

"When what're we waiting for?" Andrew demanded. "Let's move!"

"If we manage all this without being seen, it'll be a miracle!" Hermione said, terrified at the thought of flying.

"Well, we've got to try or we're doomed to fail," Harry answered, checking to see if the coast was clear.

They made their way down to the Entrance Hall and looked out onto the grounds. "If anyone's looking out a window..." Hermione started.

"We run for it, straight line to the forest, fast as we can." Andrew said, closing his eyes and focusing on the Force.

"We should go by the greenhouses," Hermione said. "If we see us, there's no telling what might happen."

Andrew nodded. "Go, now!" he ordered, sensing nobody at any windows.

They set off at a sprint, tearing across the vegetable gardens to the greenhouses. They stopped behind them, catching their breath, then set off again and making for the Forbidden Forest at breakneck speed.

Once in the shade of the trees, Harry and Hermione needed to take another break, Andrew was using the Force to fuel his movements to keep from tiring out.

They moved stealthily towards Hagrid's hut, just as they caught sight of the place, they heard Harry knocking from under the cloak. They watched their earlier conversation while hiding behind a tree.

"I guess this must be how movie stars feel," Andrew mused.

"I know what you mean, this is by far the weirdest thing we've ever done," Harry agreed.

"Let's move along a bit," Hermione whispered. "We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!"

They crept closer to the nervous Hippogriff, who watched them with caution. "Now?" Harry asked.

"No, too soon. The Committee saw Buckbeak as they went inside Hagrid's hut." Andrew answered.

"So we have to wait until then before we try anything," Hermione added.

"That's not going to give us long," Harry said, thinking hard.

"What's worse, I remember sensing us," Andrew told them, shocking Hermione. "Don't worry, I remember it clearly, I know what to do."

They heard something break inside the hut. "That'll be Hagrid breaking his milk jug, I'll find Scabbers in a moment." Hermione stated.

"What if we just burst in there and grab him?" Harry thought out loud.

"Think about that Harry, you've just seen yourself burst into the room..." Andrew started.

"I … I guess I'd probably think I'd gone mad or something." Harry finished.

"Exactly, Harry. Professor McGonagall warned me about wizards that have tried to change the past, some have ended up killing their past or future selves by mistake." Hermione explained.

"Alright, it was just an idea." Harry sighed.

"And I understand where it came from, but we've got a hard enough job on our hands without changing the plan," Andrew said firmly.

Hermione gave the boys a quick nudge and pointed up to the castle, where Fudge, Dumbledore, Macnair and the Committee member were making their way down to Hagrid's hut.

"We're about to come out any second now." Andrew hissed, the others nodded and hid behind trees again, just in time for their earlier selves to step out Hagrid's back door.

The three of them listened in amusement as Andrew started to argue with the Minister, taking the opportunity to sneak closer to Buckbeak, using Hagrid's pumpkins for cover.

"It was _so_ tempting to stab that Macnair bastard!" Andrew hissed as they watched. That was when they saw the other Andrew tense up and look straight at them, Andrew raised to fingers to his temple, intent on sending a message to just himself. "( _I know this looks weird, but we're here to save Buckbeak, don't say anything, please._ )"

They watched Andrew sigh and walk away. "And please go straight to your common room," they heard Dumbledore call, before watching the four men step inside the house.

"Okay, Harry, go!" Andrew hissed quietly, Hermione quietly moving over to where Buckbeak was tethered. "Wait, HIDE!" they all took cover again.

"Where is the beast?" they heard Macnair ask coldly.

"Out … outside," Hagrid said, opening the window for the executioner to see, after Macnair walked away from the window, they set to work again, Hermione untied the Hippogriff while Harry bowed to him.

"Quickly you two, Hagrid's already signed!" Andrew hissed, listening to what was going on inside, Buckbeak had already bowed to Harry, they were both pulling on Buckbeak's rope, trying to get him to move. Andrew was about to throw caution to the winds and push at the Hippogriff's hindquarters, when Dumbledore saved them.

"One moment, please, Macnair," his voice said from the window. "You need to sign, too." The footsteps that were heading towards the back door stopped.

"Hurry, hurry!" Andrew whispered, backing up, and scraping his foot over their tracks, as Harry, Hermione and Buckbeak made it to the trees, he darted after them and they all took cover in the shadows.

After a few seconds of moving deeper into the trees, Hermione stopped them, for fear of Buckbeak's trotting being heard.

They listened as the five men stepped outside to find the Hippogriff gone. Macnair furiously swung his axe into Hagrid's fence and Hagrid himself cried with joy, thinking Buckbeak had pulled himself free and flown off.

Buckbeak started to pull on the rope, but Andrew sent calming waves to the Hippogriff through the Force, causing him to relax.

"Someone untied him!" they heard Macnair snarling. "We should search the grounds, the Forest..."

"Macnair, if Buckbeak has indeed been stolen, do you really think the thief will have led him away on foot?" Dumbledore asked, his voice clearly sounding amused. "Search the skies, if you will … Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy."

They listened as all the voices disappeared and the slamming of a door. "So, now what?" Harry asked.

"We'll have to hide in here," Hermione answered, looking a little shaken, it was one thing to break school rules, it was another to be breaking the law. "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle."

"Then we wait until a little after Sirius has been taken, so we can fly Buckbeak up there to rescue him." Andrew added, distractedly. In his mind, he was still forming a plan to clear Sirius' name.

"We're going to have to move then," said Harry, pulling on Buckbeak's rope. "We'll need to be able to see the Whomping Willow, or we won't know what's going on."

"Alright," said Hermione, taking a firmer grip on the rope. "But we've got to keep out of sight, remember."

"We keep to the shadows and stay quiet," Andrew said, ducking low and leading the way.

They moved closer, until the tree was in view, seeing Andrew walking by himself. They saw Ron appear from out of nowhere and start running, followed by Harry and Hermione chasing him. Andrew picked up the dropped cloak and followed. Then Sirius turned up in his dog form and started to drag Ron away, Crookshanks froze the tree and then everyone was gone.

"And there we go, we're in." Harry muttered.

Shortly afterwards, they heard voices and ducked down more, Dumbledore, Fudge, Macnair and the Committee member were heading back to the castle. "Oh if only they had seen us, they could have been witnesses." Hermione moaned sadly.

"I doubt it, Fudge would have panicked and ordered Macnair to kill Sirius on the spot." Harry answered, quietly, as they watched the four men head into the castle.

Next they saw Lupin arrive, pick up a long stick and press the freezing knot, then he too was gone.

"Something I don't get, when did Jax show up?" Harry asked.

"I think we're about to find out," Hermione answered, pointing.

Jax was walking down the lawn, heading towards the lake, he was in running gear with his lightsaber on his belt. It seemed as though he did this regularly, he started jogging around the lake at a steady pace.

As the three of them turned to each other and shrugged, they heard a burst of song and saw Hagrid, drunkenly heading up to the castle, Buckbeak made another attempt to go to him. Just after Hagrid disappeared into the castle, Snape came out and mimicked Lupin, disappearing from sight.

"So, that's all of us down there, now we wait." Andrew said, sitting down and meditating.

"There's something I don't understand," Hermione started. "Why didn't the Dementors get Sirius?"

"I remember you killing some of them, Andrew," Harry answered, remembering how his Patronus was useless. "But most of it is a blur."

"I vaguely remember seeing two Patronus animals, though I can't tell you what they were, my vision was beginning to blur. They came out from the lake and drove the Dementors away." Andrew told him, his eyes closed.

"But who conjured them?" Hermione asked.

"Perhaps we can find out, soon." Harry offered.

They waited in silence, only the sound of leaves, rustling in the light breeze, could be heard. Hour after hour passed, until eleven o'clock.

"Here we come!" Hermione whispered, they watched as Snape, Pettigrew and Ron came out first, all chained together, followed by Lupin and Andrew, then Harry, Hermione and Sirius. They watched sadly as the moon came out and the whole situation went to hell. Lupin transformed and Harry remembered that he was going to be thrown right at them.

They didn't have time to untie Buckbeak, so Andrew sliced his lightsaber through the rope, and retreated back to Hagrid's hut. After the Hippogriff got himself settled happily in front of the fireplace, Harry pointed out that they would have to head out again, otherwise they would miss their opportunity to rescue Sirius.

"I'll go with you," Andrew said. "In case Lupin comes back.

"Alright, I'll stay here with Buckbeak." Hermione answered, sitting down at the table and looking a little worn out. "Just be careful, there's a werewolf out there, not to mention the Dementors."

The boys stepped outside, they could hear yelping in the distance. "Jax has found Sirius, let's head to the other side of the lake from them, mainly so they won't see us and partly so we can see who saved us." Andrew suggested, Harry nodded and they took off at a run.

When they got into position, Andrew and Jax had just finished their short duel. The Dementors were closing in, they watched as Andrew started to hack at the incoming Dementors, Harry fell to his knees, the Dementors lowered their hoods, but nobody was coming.

Andrew and Harry looked at each other as realisation hit them. "It's _us_!" Harry exclaimed, Andrew nodded and they both ran to the edge of the lake, both held up their wands.

"( _My plan can work, it_ will _work!_ )" Andrew thought to himself.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" They both yelled. From their wands, a bright, shining, silver animal burst out. The Patronus' glided/galloped/ran across the lake and smashed into the Dementors, mowing some of them down and causing the others to flee back to their posts. As they came back, the two boys realised what their Patronus' were.

Harry's was a stag, possibly identical to James in his Animagus form. Andrew's was a dog, a Siberian Husky to be exact. "Prongs!" Harry whispered. The two boys reached out to touch their Patronus, but they both vanished.

They stood there, stunned, until Hermione came up behind them with Buckbeak. "What did you do?" she demanded. "I thought you were just going to watch for when we can move!"

"We just … saved our lives?" Andrew said, scratching the back of his head.

"Come on, back behind this bush, we'll explain." Harry said.

They explained to Hermione what had happened, Hermione was impressed that the two of them could conjure such powerful Patronus', they watched as Snape came down to the lake, he looked uncertain for a moment, then he bound Sirius in ropes and conjured stretchers for him, Harry and Jax, then helped Andrew drag himself to the castle.

"It's nearly time," Hermione said, looking at her watch. "We've got about forty-five minutes until Dumbledore locks the door to the hospital wing."

"Give it fifteen and then we move," Andrew said. "That'll give us five minutes to find Sirius, ten to say goodbye and fifteen to get our asses back before Dumbledore locks us out!"

They only waited for ten minutes, as they saw Macnair coming out of the castle. "He's gone to get the Dementors, no more time to wait, mount up." Harry ordered, the others nodded. Harry got on Buckbeak, behind his head, Hermione was behind Harry, clutching to him for dear life, and Andrew got on behind her.

"Wish I had my 'spider' gear right now!" Andrew complained.

Harry then urged Buckbeak to take to the sky, they soared over the lake and made their way to the West Tower, they hovered their way past the windows, counting them until they saw Sirius. Buckbeak hovered outside the window, beating his wings to keep airborne.

Harry reached out and knocked on the window, Sirius looked up, his jaw dropping when he saw who was there, he leapt up and tried to open the window, but it was locked.

"Stand back!" Hermione called, pulling out her wand, Andrew tightened his grip on her to keep her steady. "Alohomora!" she hissed, tapping the window and causing it to spring open.

"How … how?" Sirius asked.

"No time, get on!" Andrew whispered, slipping off Buckbeak's rump and clinging onto his hooves.

Harry urged the Hippogriff up to the tower and Andrew slipped onto the battlements, opening the door to make sure nobody was there, Buckbeak circled around and landed gracefully, letting everyone else slip off his back.

"There's no time, you'd better go quick, Sirius," Harry panted. "They'll find out you're gone any minute now!"

"What happened to the other boy, Ron?" Sirius asked urgently.

"He's going to be alright, he's still out of it, but Madam Pomfrey says she'll be able to make him better. Quick – go!" Hermione told him.

"I can't thank..." Sirius started.

"GO!" The three of them hissed at him. Black wheeled around, facing the open sky.

"Head to the Jedi temple, I'll contact Master Cooper and clear it with him." Andrew told him.

"I promise, we'll see each other again, Harry," Black said. "You are – truly, your father's son..." He squeezed Buckbeak's sides with his heels and the Hippogriff opened his massive wings and took off.

The three of them watched as the two fugitives grew smaller and smaller with distance. "( _I promise, you won't need to run for long_.)" Andrew thought to himself.

They quickly made their way down the staircase to the tower, flattening themselves against the wall when they got to the bottom, as they heard the voices of Snape and Fudge. They walked passed them, talking about how it was going to look in 'The Daily Prophet' that Black had finally been caught.

"( _I prefer to imagine how it'll look when you grant him a full pardon._ )" Andrew thought a little viciously.

The three of them waited for a moment after the adults passed them by, then they ran flat out in the opposite direction, down another flight of stairs, they ran into Peeves and Andrew 'convinced' the poltergeist to say nothing and let them pass.

They managed to get back to the hospital wing, just as Dumbledore said he was going to lock them in. "Well?" he asked, turning to them with a broad smile.

"We did it!" Harry answered, leaning on his knees to catch his breath.

"Sirius is gone, on Buckbeak." Andrew reported.

"Well done. I think … yes I think you've gone, too. Get inside, and I'll lock you in." Dumbledore said.

"I might need your assistance in the morning Professor." Andrew said. "I told Sirius to head to the Jedi Temple, I'll need to inform Master Cooper that he's coming … it'll be a great help if you vouched for my story."

"Of course, I'll meet you in Professor Lupin's office." the Headmaster answered.

Dumbledore locked the door and the three of them moved back to their beds, Hermione tucking her Time-Turner back into her robes, while Andrew took the copy off his neck and pocketed it, he was going to need it for what he had planned.

As Andrew checked the burns on Jax's chest, Madam Pomfrey came out of her office, looking thoroughly annoyed and started forcing chocolate upon them, Ron continued to sleep peacefully.

"He'll be fine, Payne, now get to bed." she had ordered.

"I feel bad for causing that," Andrew answered, doing as he was told, no matter how pointless. "But in my defence, he kind of stabbed me first," he winced again, "twice _and_ with his blade on full power."

As the matron was pressing a fourth piece of chocolate onto them, and a pain relief potion onto Andrew, they heard a distant roar of fury that sounded strangely like the Minister.

"( _Didn't know he was capable of rage,_ )" Harry thought to the other two.

There was shouting in the corridor outside, then the door banged open and Fudge stormed in, alongside Snape who was attempting to look just as angry, followed closely by Dumbledore.

"Did any of these children leave their beds, Matron!" Fudge demanded.

"Certainly not!" Pomfrey barked.

"I highly doubt that they didn't have something to do with Black's escape, Minister," Snape said coldly. "However, Potter has a tendency to leave no evidence to his rule-breaking."

Fudge sighed. "'The Daily Prophet' is going to have a field day with this! We had Black cornered and he slipped through our fingers yet again!"

"That's tabloids for you, Minister. The juicier the story, the more they'll want to print it." Andrew quipped. "Now if you don't mind," he yawned dramatically, "I'm _exhausted_ , goodnight."

"Well," Fudge sighed, "I'd better go and notify the Ministry..."

"And the Dementors?" Dumbledore asked. "They'll be removed from the school, I trust?"

"Oh yes, definitely, they'll have to go," Fudge said quickly, running his fingers through his hair, pulling slightly. "Never _dreamed_ they'd attempt to administer the Kiss on a pair of innocent boys. Even if one of them _has_ found a way to kill them."

"In self defence!" Andrew mumbled indignantly. "They came at me and Harry first.

"They should never have been allowed near children in the first place!" Madam Pomfrey barked.

"I agree, Matron, they're out of control." Fudge responded. "I'll have them packed off back to Azkaban tonight. Perhaps we should consider trained dragons at the school entrance..."

"Oh, Hagrid would _love_ that," Harry laughed, causing Madam Pomfrey to stuff another piece of chocolate in his open mouth.

The three men left and Madam Pomfrey locked the door again, muttering to herself. Just then, Ron and Jax woke up.

"What happened?" Ron groaned. "Where's Sirius? Where's Lupin?"

"We'll tell you in the morning," Harry answered, laying down and going to sleep.

"Jax? Thanks." Andrew said.

"What for?" Jax asked, rubbing his chest and feigning ignorance. "I've no idea what you're talking about, Payne, but you can guarantee that my Master will have something to say about you attacking me!"

As the Sith turned his back and pretended to be asleep, Andrew couldn't tell if he should frown or smile.

"Hang on," Hermione said. "I thought it was that time of the year again."

"It is, I just wanted them to bugger off," Andrew answered, sitting up and wide awake still.

The first thing they did, the next morning, when they left the hospital was find Mel and Ginny. They were outside, much like the rest of the school, lounging by the lake.

They told the two girls everything, from the point of leaving the common room, to the point where Harry, Hermione and Andrew got back to the hospital wing.

There were a couple of interruptions. "Oh so that's why Jax seems so pissed today," Mel had said when Andrew told him about the fight they had had. It turned out that Jax was close to tearing someone apart and had even punched a first year for blowing a daffodil in his general direction.

"Oh so _that's_ how you've been getting to all your classes!" Ron blurted when Hermione told them about the Time-Turner.

"That reminds me, Andrew," Hermione had said. "You'll have to hand that in, I've already dropped Divination and I'm dropping Muggle Studies too, so since I don't need it any more, I've turned mine in."

"Sorry, Hermione, but I need it for something. Besides, I noticed it has a serial number, probably identical to yours, so as far as the Ministry is concerned … my Time-Turner doesn't exist." Andrew answered.

"Did you and Professor Dumbledore inform Master Cooper about Sirius?" Mel asked, interrupting Hermione before she could tell Andrew off.

"Yep, sorted that out before these three even woke up." Andrew answered.

The sad news, was that Snape had told his house that morning about Lupin being a werewolf. It turned out that he was due to receive an Order of Merlin for his capture of Black, but it was revoked when Black escaped. So, in a tantrum, Snape let slip about Lupin's condition and the news had spread like wildfire. It was expected that Lupin would be forced to resign when frightened parents wrote to Dumbledore demanding such.

Once they had heard the story of Lupin being a werewolf, from Hagrid, the six Gryffindors ran up to Lupin's office. When they got there, they found him packing.

"You're leaving?" Harry asked.

"Sadly, I am," Lupin sighed.

"This sucks!" Ron groaned.

"So you're a werewolf, so what?" Ginny demanded.

"After what happened last night, Ginny, I realise I _am_ dangerous." Lupin told her sadly.

"But you're the best damned teacher we've ever had!" Andrew growled.

"I'm sure Dumbledore will find a suitable replacement for me," Lupin tried to smile, but instead he handed something to Harry. "I retrieved this from the Shrieking Shack."

It was Harry's Invisibility Cloak, Lupin also handed him the Marauder's Map. "I'm no longer your teacher, so I don't feel guilty in giving this back to you. Besides, I won't have any use for it outside of Hogwarts, I daresay you lot will."

He grinned at this and continued to pack while talking to Harry and Andrew about their Patronus'. "Yes, James always used to transform into a stag, that's why we called him 'Prongs'," Lupin told Harry, smiling in a reminiscent way.

There was a knock at the door and Dumbledore came in. "Your carriage is ready, Remus," he said.

"Thank you, Headmaster, there's no need to see me to the gates, I can manage." Lupin said, shaking hands with Dumbledore, he turned to his former students. "I would like to say, it has been a pleasure to teach each and every one of you. I'm sure we'll meet again, someday."

"Goodbye, Professor," Ginny said, tears in her eyes.

After Lupin left, the children sat down. "Why so miserable?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh I dunno," Andrew answered sarcastically. "We only failed to make a single difference!"

"What do you mean? You made all the difference in the world!" Dumbledore cried.

"Pettigrew still got away," Harry said glumly, kicking a leg on Lupin's desk.

"Yes, true. However you saved Buckbeak, discovered the truth and saved a man from a _terrible_ fate!" Dumbledore cried.

"Given that list, I'd still call it a win for the good guys," Mel said cheerfully.

Harry then remembered Trelawney's prediction and told Dumbledore about it. "Really? Most impressive, that brings her total _real_ predictions up to two … I should offer her a pay rise."

"But I stopped Sirius and Lupin from killing Pettigrew." Harry said, looking almost scared. "That makes it my fault if Voldemort comes back."

"Hardly, Harry." Andrew said. "What's the point in keeping Voldemort from coming back, if we end up just like him in the process?"

"Very well said, Andrew," Dumbledore said proudly. "You did a very noble thing in sparing Pettigrew's life, Harry. He will be forever in your debt. When a wizard saves the life of another wizard, it creates a bond between them, that cannot be unbroken, even in death."

"I don't want a bond with Pettigrew!" Harry snapped.

"I presume that Professor Snape did not want a bond with your father, he only broke it when he attempted to save your life during your first Quidditch match." Dumbledore answered. "But you may find, Harry, that there may be a time when you are glad that you saved Pettigrew's life."

"Like when he returns the favour." Mel said seriously.

Dumbledore walked over to Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I knew your father while he was at school, and for a long time after," he said gently. "He would have saved Pettigrew too, I am sure of it."

"Professor?" Andrew started. "Why exactly did mine and Harry's Patronus' take the forms that they did?"

"That is rather difficult to explain," Dumbledore said, taking a seat on Lupin's desk. "In Harry's case, it is because of the connection he has to his father. I'm sure you tire of hearing it, Harry, but you do look _very_ much like your father, except for your eyes, they're your mother's eyes."

"As for you, Andrew, I am unsure, do you have a pet dog in the family?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, my younger brother has a glass eye, so because he has no depth perception, he needs a guide dog. But he's only ever had a chocolate Labrador." Andrew answered.

"Then, perhaps, you have a particular fondness for the Siberian Husky?"

"Yep!" Ginny said with a grin. "You should have seen him back in Diagon Alley, Professor."

"Oh definitely!" Andrew almost gushed. "You'll never convince me that there's a more beautiful dog in the entire world!"

The girls giggled at this and Dumbledore smiled. "Then that must be it, although, I might also ponder … if you happened to become an Animagus, might you also take on that same form? It is very common for ones Patronus to be identical to their Animagus form, should they take one."

"I might just consider looking into that, let's face it, when I go for a month every year without sleep, I've got a perfect opportunity to sort out that potion." Andrew suggested with a shrug.

"I agree, you should have an easier time than most in starting the journey, I shall speak to Professors McGonagall and Snape during the holidays," Dumbledore said, smiling. "They may be able to assist you."

The only people who weren't sad to see Lupin go, were Slytherins. Some of the other students were concerned about him being a werewolf, but at the same time felt he was the best teacher they had had.

McCarthy, of course, was furious about Buckbeak getting away, telling anyone who would listen to him that Hagrid must have deliberately let him go. Sadly for him, nobody listened except Crabbe and Goyle.

As the end of term got nearer, Harry got quieter, constantly thinking about the repercussions of letting Pettigrew go. Andrew had been getting quiet too, constantly planning what he was going to be doing during the start of the holidays.

On a bright note, Percy had gotten top marks in his NEWTs and Harry and his friends had passed every subject, on top of that, Gryffindor had won the House Cup for the third year running. The end of term feast was decorated in the Gryffindor colours and Harry managed to forget his troubles for the night.

"What's on your mind?" Mel asked Andrew quietly. "Don't try and tell me 'nothing', I know you."

"I'm planning something, something big. Don't tell anyone about it, I'm not sure yet if I can pull it off." Andrew answered, keenly interested in a doughnut.

"Need help?" she asked.

"Probably, but not yet. Just need to visit a Pharmacy as soon as we get back to London." Andrew muttered.

"What the hell for?"

"Placebos."

Mel gave Andrew a highly confused look and shrugged.

The next morning, they were all sharing an enlarged compartment on the Hogwarts Express. "So, what's everyone got planned for the summer?" Fred asked, sitting down and putting his feet up after he enlarged the compartment.

"Not much, just the usual training," Mel answered.

"That, and I'm hoping to get my car finished, I was never too brilliant with software." Andrew added.

"Software?" Ron asked.

"Well the car herself is the hardware, the software is her programming." Andrew explained, then he pulled out some parchment he'd been drawing on all year, asking Fred for the incantation to the spell he had just used.

"You should come over, Harry, it's the Quidditch World Cup this year, Dad can normally get tickets from work." Ron told Harry, which managed to cheer him up.

"Think you could get a few extra ones?" Mel asked, thinking of bringing her Master along.

"Sure, how many?" George asked.

"Me, Andrew, Master Cooper..." Mel began.

"Seven," Andrew said, not looking up from his parchment.

When the others asked why so many, Andrew refused to answer.

"One of them for Sirius?" Ron blurted out, the others then had to explain everything to Fred, George and Lee, who believed every word, thankfully.

"He'll have to come as a dog, Dad can get a pets ticket," George said.

"If I have my way," Andrew said, finally looking up, "Sirius' name will be cleared, before the World Cup starts."

There was a fierce determination in his eyes. "Alright, what're you planning." Mel demanded, crossing her arms.

"Not saying, don't want to get anyone's hopes up, in case I fail."

They were prevented from asking any more questions, by a tiny owl crashing into the window. It was carrying a letter from Sirius, saying he was somewhere safe, that Andrew knew where, and that he was the one who had sent Harry the Firebolt for Christmas.

"See, Ron, I was right." Andrew said.

"Yeah, but he didn't jinx it, did he?" Ron shot back. "Ouch!" the owl had just nipped his hand.

The letter went on to explain how he had managed it, by sending Crookshanks with the order, detailing which Gringotts vault to take the money from. The letter enclosed a slip of paper, giving Harry permission to visit Hogsmeade on the weekends and a 'PS', saying the owl was Ron's to keep, seeing as Sirius blamed himself for Ron no longer having a rat.

"Keep him?" Ron said, uncertainly. He looked closely at the owl, and then he held it out to Hermione's cat. "What d'you reckon? Definitely an owl?"

Crookshanks purred. "That's good enough for me. He's mine!" Ron shouted happily.

"The letter says you know where he is," Fred said, curious.

"He and Buckbeak are hiding out at the Temple in London, it's the last place the Ministry will look for him." Andrew explained.

When they eventually got off the train, Andrew promised that he'd bring Sirius along to the World Cup and asked Ron to keep him posted on where it would be, then he met with his Master and requested that they head to the nearest Boots.


	9. Secret PlansTemporal Rescue

Chapter 9 – Secret Plans in Motion

The first thing Mel did when she got home was to put her things away, haphazardly. Then she went to the main entrance to wait for Andrew and Jarod, she and Dela had driven home, giggling all the way at the look on Mr Dursley's face when Harry had mentioned his Godfather was an escaped convict and convicted murderer.

Andrew and Jarod had taken to London on foot, so they were further behind, as they came back, Jarod had a confused and annoyed look on his face. Andrew darted around Mel and ran off to his room, where he locked himself in.

"I don't suppose he told _you_ what he's up to," Jarod said hopefully.

"Sorry, Master, he didn't," Mel said, frowning.

"I presume he hasn't slept for a while," Dela guessed.

"Not since the start of June," Mel answered, growing worried about her long-time friend.

"I'm starting to worry that these bouts of sleep deprivation is starting to have some effect on his sanity." Jarod sighed.

In his room, Andrew was busy, talking to himself. "Right, got the pills, got instructions on how to imbue Muggle items with spells," he said, pulling out a book he had borrowed from Dumbledore's private collection. He placed the book, open on the pages he needed, on his desk and poured out some of the placebos.

"Now to get on with stage one," Andrew said, looking over at his calendar and making a note that he was on borrowed time, there was no telling how much time he had to get his self-imposed mission completed. "Just hope that I can get away with this, I _am_ about to perform underage magic."

He started following the instructions, by the end of the day, he had something that should have worked, but he needed a test subject. He sat on his bed, having had nothing to eat, and meditated all night, the next morning he went straight to the medical ward.

"Master Axfow," Andrew greeted with a polite bow.

"That time of year I see," The Healing Master commented, it was only five in the morning.

"Yes, Master," Andrew chuckled.

"I take it you need something, I don't see any injuries," Zan stated.

"I was wondering if you had any lab mice you could spare," Andrew said.

Zan Axfow frowned, it wasn't uncommon for Andrew to experiment while he wasn't sleeping, but he had never asked for a live test subject before. "Might I ask why, young one?"

"I've developed something new, if it works, it should make a live clone. But I don't want to risk a human test subject in case it doesn't work." Andrew answered.

Zan nodded and left briefly, he came back with a small cage, containing a single, white mouse. "I should supervise what you're doing, you've never tried something so risky that you needed a rodent."

Andrew nodded and led the Healing Master to his room/lab. Master Axfow placed the mouse on the desk and observed as Andrew fed it a placebo. The two Jedi watched, patiently waiting for the pill to take effect. After six or seven seconds, the mouse let out a squeal as the Copy Charm took effect and made a perfect clone. The two mice blinked at each other and then looked out at the Jedi.

"Impressive, but to what point?" Zan asked Andrew.

"Well, according to The Committee on Experimental Charms, using my Duplicus spell on anything with bio matter, only creates a temporary copy, which disintegrates after thirty minutes." Andrew explained while he started a stopwatch. "If this pill works in the same way, we'll watch our new friend turn into a pile of ash."

"I see now why you needed the rodent." Axfow said, still uncertain why he was bothering, if he knew it wasn't perfect. Did he intend to try and perfect this 'cloning' process?

While they waited, an owl soared through the window with a letter for Andrew, he tore open the envelope and read the parchment. "Just a warning from the Ministry for using magic outside of school." Andrew said, scrunching the letter up and tossing it into his burning bin carelessly. "If this works right then I'll have already done what I needed to and won't need to use any more magic."

After exactly thirty minutes had passed, one of the two mice dissolved into nothingness. "Brilliant!" Andrew exclaimed excitedly. "Next is phase two!" he went to his desk and started writing a letter, he needed help for his the next stage in his plan, mainly because it needed more magic and he couldn't risk getting into any more trouble with the Ministry, but partly because he needed a wizard who was both older and wiser.

"Andrew, what..." Zan started.

"Thanks for the mouse, Master, I don't need it any more." Andrew cut him off. Zan's frown deepened, he picked up the cage from the desk and left.

Once he had returned the mouse to the rodent pen in the medical lab, he sought out Jarod Cooper, he believed that Andrew's Master needed to know of his concerns.

He found the man in one of the classrooms with his fiancé, teaching a group of Younglings how to tie a splint. "Jarod, can I have a word?" he asked.

Jarod was about to say 'no', but as he looked up he saw his friend's concerned face. "Keep practising for a few minutes children, I'll just be a moment. You don't mind watching them for me, do you, Aurora?"

Professor Sinistra smiled. "Not at all, Jarod," she said, placing a hand on his cheek and giving him a gentle kiss, causing the Younglings to giggle or make 'yucky' faces.

The two Masters stepped into the corridor. "What has you worried, old friend?" Jarod asked, calmly placing a hand on Zan's shoulder.

"Your Padawan came to see me this morning," Zan said, "he asked me for a spare laboratory mouse."

"Hmm, that does seem strange, even for Andrew during his sleepless period," Jarod mused, stroking his beard. "I take it you supervised."

"I did, he was testing a pill on the mouse, it created a clone," Zan told his friend. "The poor thing just … fell apart and dissolved in thirty minutes. What gets me is how happy it seemed to make the boy."

"Hmm, I think it's time I had a word with my Padawan, it can't wait though." Jarod said firmly. "Could I ask you to take over my class for me?"

Zan nodded and ducked into the classroom, while Jarod ran to his student's bedroom, he knocked and heard Andrew call "It's open!" Jarod opened the door and saw his Padawan finishing off a letter.

"Andrew, as your Master, I _demand_ to know what you're doing!" Jarod said, sternly.

Andrew looked up from his letter, worried at the concerned features of his Master's face. "Why do you look so worried, Master?" he asked.

"How about the fact that you watched a mouse die and seemed overjoyed?" Jarod said, not liking the look of innocence on his Padawan's face.

"Ah, that," Andrew folded the parchment, placed it in an envelope and tied it to Snowfire's leg. "Get that to Dumbledore as fast as you can." He stroked his owl's back and sent him off, out the window.

"Well?" Jarod pressed, Andrew was about to answer when his stomach grumbled loudly. "When was the last time you ate?"

"Um," Andrew thought about it for a few moments. "On the train home I think."

Jarod sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Andrew, that was _yesterday_!" He shook his head and motioned to the door behind him. "Come on, you and I are going to have an early lunch, now!"

He was trying to be stern, but not unkind. Andrew nodded and heaved himself to his feet. "Yes, Master. I'll explain what I'm doing while we eat, I can't do any more work until I hear from Professor Dumbledore, anyway."

They made their way to the mess hall, Dela and Mel meeting them along the way. They sat together and ordered some food from the new waiter droids.

"You going to tell me what you're up to?" Mel asked, a little scathingly.

"Us, you mean," Dela said, pointedly.

"Sorry, Master."

"Well, well." Sirius said, taking a seat with them, he looked much cleaner now, having had access to a shower, toothpaste and some decent food, he looked a lot healthier too. "I was wondering if I'd ever bump into you two."

"I'm glad you're here," Andrew said. "After-all, you're part of the reason that all this has kicked off in the first place."

Jarod, Dela, Sirius and Mel all shared a confused look. "With you still being on the run, I decided that you shouldn't be. But at this point, without Pettigrew to serve as evidence, I need to find a witness to plead your case to the Ministry."

"Good luck finding one," Sirius laughed, dryly.

"Too late, found one," Andrew said as the droid came back with their food.

"Who exactly?" Dela asked slowly, as Jarod was on the High Council, he needed someone to take his seat while he stood with Sirius and pleaded his case to the Grandmaster. So as Dela was on the National Council, Jarod asked her to fill in for him.

"A certain James and Lily Potter," Andrew said simply, between bites of toast.

Sirius and Jarod both frowned in confusion. "How the hell do you plan to pull _that_ off!" Mel demanded. "Hold a séance?"

Andrew let out a chuckle and stopped eating, taking an item out of each of his trouser pockets. "With these," he said. In one hand was the Time-Turner he had copied from Hermione, and in his other palm was two pills.

"You have a plan, explain." Dela said, all business-like.

"I still need Professor Dumbledore's help, to make a device with the Time-Turner's power, but with my own control, so I can tell it where, or should I say _when_ I want to go." Andrew explained. "But the plan is to go back in time, to the point where Voldemort broke into the house in Godric's Hollow, and make Harry's parents swallow these."

"What do they do exactly?" Sirius asked, taking one and examining it.

"I've imbued them with my duplication charm, yes I know, I've used magic outside of school and the Ministry have given me a written warning." Andrew explained. "It's part of the reason I need Dumbledore's help to carry on."

"So _that's_ why you were so happy when the mouse 'died'," Jarod sighed with relief. "It proved that those pills do exactly what you want them to."

"Exactly, Harry's parents swallow these, their clones die trying to protect baby Harry, I bring the originals back to the present and history doesn't change." Andrew simplified.

"That's bloody brilliant!" Sirius said loudly, tears were filling his eyes. "How can I help?"

"By not getting your hopes up," Andrew said. "For one, Dumbledore might refuse to help, for another, I might fail anyway, Voldemort might kill me before I even get to James."

"You should have asked me to help with these pills, I wouldn't have been traced like you." Sirius said, making Andrew slap his forehead and call himself 'stupid'. "Don't sweat it though, you didn't do anything around a Muggle, right?"

"No, what difference does that make?" Andrew asked.

"If you use magic outside of school without Muggles able to see, you get up to three written warnings before being expelled." Sirius explained. "But if you've got Muggles in the next room and the door open, for example, you get one written warning telling you that if you perform _any_ underage magic again, you'll be expelled."

"That explains why the letter I got didn't say the same Harry told me his did last year, long story." Andrew cut Sirius off before he could ask.

"How do you plan to get back?" Mel asked. "From what Hermione told me, those things are a one-way ticket."

"That's also what I need Dumbledore's help with," Andrew answered.

"Well, we're not likely to get an answer to your letter until tomorrow evening, unless Albus chooses to answer in person." Jarod said. Andrew agreed and, once he'd finished his meal, got back to his training.

Sirius stuck with them for the day, eager to see what Padawan's did around the temple, but not too keen to be around children he didn't know. He watched the two have a sparring match, meditate, clean their lightsabers and take some time to teach some Younglings the basics of Form two, Makashi.

"You know, watching you two, is fairly boring," Sirius observed while they were walking towards the mess hall for dinner.

"Well, you didn't _have_ to watch us," Andrew joked, his laugh was cut off when he walked straight into Professor Dumbledore, who had just appeared in front of him, Snowfire perched happily on the Headmaster's forearm.

"You're making a habit of just appearing in the Temple, Professor," Mel said as she helped Andrew to his feet.

"My apologies, I just read through Andrew's letter, I decided to come immediately," Dumbledore said.

"Glad you came, Professor, follow me, I'll explain everything in my lab." Andrew said, he started to walk away, but Mel grabbed hold of his Padawan braid and stopped him.

"Oh no you don't!" She said. "You can explain over dinner, _this_ way!" she ordered, pulling him by his hair.

"OW! MEL, LET GO OF MY HAIR!" Andrew complained, walking backwards.

She didn't listen, she just kept pulling him along until they got to a table. The four of them sat down and ordered some food. While they were waiting, Andrew told the Headmaster exactly what he had told the others earlier that day.

"Hmm, a very noble endeavour, and I applaud your attempt to ensure that history remains unaltered, however, it is still a criminal act which you are attempting," Dumbledore said sadly. "Not to mention that you have gotten yourself in trouble already, further magic from you could get you expelled, but what you're planning could get you locked up!"

"So you won't help?" Mel asked.

"If I believed for a moment, that this matter would be dropped by my _not_ assisting, then I would say you are correct, Melanie." Dumbledore said, giving Andrew a pointed look.

"If I can save two lives, giving up my own is a small price to pay," Andrew told the Headmaster with determination.

Dumbledore smiled. "I know determination when I see it and I know you'll try with or without my help," Dumbledore smiled. "So I might as well see to it that this is done right. What do you need from me."

Andrew grinned and showed Dumdledore the Time-Turner he still had. "I need to know how this works, can it return me to the present or is it for backwards travel only?"

"When the Time-Turner was first conceived, it was meant to me a measure for preventing disasters," Dumbledore explained. "Therefore, turning it one way would take you back by one hour, turning the other would bring you forward."

"However, it did cause many problems for the Ministry, so although the spell powering the Time-Turner has not been changed, the device you have has been." he finished.

"So, _this_ thing can't take me back and bring me forward, but if we can extract the spell and put it in something else, _it_ will?" Andrew asked, Dumbledore nodded. "Good, that's helpful. I needed to transfer its power to a device that I could manipulate anyway." Andrew explained. "That way I can tell it exactly when to take me and just press a button to come back."

"I take it that's where my knowledge comes in?" Dumbledore asked. Andrew nodded. "Then we can get started in the morning, I think it will take some time, and I should rest first, do you think you could construct something before morning?"

"I think so," Andrew said.

"Great, so let's tuck in!" Sirius said, just as their food arrived.

"What can I get for you sir?" a waiter droid asked at the next table.

"Blood, female, type-O." came the answer, causing Sirius to drop his fork and look over, at Kain.

"You've got vampires here?" he asked, shocked.

"Heh, Kain's story is a long one," Mel said, a little nervously, Dumbledore watched with interest, as Kain was joined by Raziel, Jak, Ratchet and Sly.

"Yo, Andrew, we playing tonight? I heard you're not sleeping." Ratchet called.

"Sorry, Ratchet, I'm working on something." Andrew answered.

"K.A.T.T. again?" Jak asked. "I tell you, as cars go, she's gonna be a _babe_!"

"No, Jak, something bigger."

"Keep saying that and you'll never finish her," Raziel said, pulling the cork off his soul and breathing it in. Kain's blood was passed to him in a wine glass and he drank it slowly, savouring it.

"What do you suppose he meant by 'playing'?" Sirius asked Dumbledore quietly.

"We happen to be a band," Kain answered, he pointed to his pointed ears, "these are not for show you know."

"Interesting, what do you play?" Dumbledore asked, intrigued.

"Covers mostly," Andrew answered. "Other Muggles songs," he added.

"Songs the Wizarding World probably hasn't heard," Mel tried to explain.

"Hmm, have you ever performed in public before?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, why?" Sly asked.

"The Minister for Magic is hoping to put on a concert before the final at the World Cup, England is hosting it this year, you see." Dumbledore explained. "Sadly Cornelius is wanting to book someone to perform alongside 'The Weird Sisters' if he can book them, however he's hit a dead end in wanting something 'sensational'."

"Something nobody's ever heard before?" Andrew repeated Mel, looking hopeful.

"Precisely," Dumbledore said. "Do you have a name for yourselves?"

Andrew looked at his bandmates. They shared a telepathic conversation.

"( _Any ideas guys?_ )" Andrew asked, the others all looked at each other.

"( _Fudrockers?_ )" Ratchet offered, visibly shrugging.

"( _Nah, the restaurant franchise would sue the_ hell _out of us._ )" Andrew answered.

"( _Yeah, probably… wait, what?_ )" Ratchet asked

"( _They're a nation-wide thing in Ameri… oh wait, you've never been, sorry._ )"

"( _How about 'The Immortals'?_ )" Kain offered.

"( _Fits,_ )" Raziel supplied. "( _Myself and Kain are immortals, one of the Younglings researched us on your internet and found that the five of us are immortalised in your 'computer games'._ )"

By now the six of them were all nodding, so Andrew spoke verbally. "We're thinking of calling ourselves, 'The Immortals'."

"Excellent, I'll send Cornelius an owl in the morning," Dumbledore said, and they then continued to eat in silence.

After dinner, Andrew went back to his lab to continue working, Mel showed Dumbledore to a guest room and the band went to just make sure their instruments were in tune. After three hours, Andrew joined them and they practised a few songs for their, possible, first ever gig.

A little before seven in the morning, not that they could tell, there were no clocks or windows in their practise room, Sly started playing on his piano, while Andrew sang.

"Tonight, I'm gonna have myself, a _real_ good time. I feel ali-i-i-ive." he started, Ratchet on his base plucked his strings for the next line. "And the world, I'll turn it inside out, yeah," Andrew was holding a microphone in one hand while miming the world with the other, flipping it over at 'inside out'.

"I'm floating around, in ecstasy, so," Ratchet, Jak and Sly all joined in with, " **don't stop me now. Don't stop me..** "

"' **Cause I'm having a good time. Having a good time!** "

Kain and Raziel joined in with their instruments now as the beat really picked up.

None of them noticed Dumbledore, Sirius or Mel as they stepped in, quietly taking seats at the band kept playing.

"I'm a shooting start, leaping through the sky, like a tiger," Andrew sang, lightly stomping his right foot to the beat. "Defying the laws of gravity. I'm a racing car, passing by like _Lady Godiva_. I'm gonna go, go, go, there's no stopping me!"

"I'm _burning_ through the sky, yeah. Two hundred degrees, that's why they call me Mr. Fahrenheit. I'm travelling at the speed of light." the other singers got ready joined in. "I wanna make a supersonic man outta you!" Andrew opened his eyes as he pointed right at Sirius, going wide-eyed at their sudden audience.

" **Don't stop me now!** " Ratchet, Jak and Sly sang.

"I'm having such a good time," Andrew sang along, relaxing as he told himself they'd probably been there a while. "I'm having a ball."

" **Don't stop me** _ **now**_ **!** "

" _If_ you wanna have a good time, _just give me a call_!"

" **Don't stop me now.** "

"'Cause I'm having a good time!" " **Don't stop me now.** " " _Yes,_ I'm having a good time, I don't wanna stop at all, yeah!"

They kept going to the end of the song, Raziel pulling off a perfect guitar solo, where Dumbledore, Sirius and Mel stood up and applauded.

"Yes, I think Cornelius will be _most_ impressed," Dumbledore said with a smile. The band packed up and Andrew took Dumbledore to his lab so they could get on with the task at hand.

The two of them spent the next five days working on transferring the powers of the Time-Turner to a converted Holo-com. All of the usual electronics had been removed and new circuits installed, once they were finished, they showed their work to Jarod.

"This dial," Andrew explained, "is to set what date you want to travel to, the screen shows today's date and date we're aiming for. And finally this red button is to go back in time, and the green one will bring me back."

"Most impressive, when do you plan to get going?" he asked.

"Soon as I'm permitted to go." Andrew answered.

"Well before you're granted clearance, I want to take one precaution," Jarod said, holding up a flash drive. "I've downloaded all the world's current data onto this drive, Albus, I'd like you to charm this drive somehow, to protect it from any changes that might occur by accident."

"In case something goes wrong, that way we'll know what's changed." Dumbledore said with a nod. He took the flash drive, tapped it once with his wand, and handed it to Andrew.

"That quick?" Andrew asked as he placed it in his pocket.

"Yes, that quick," Dumbledore chuckled. "Though I still think we should wait until after you've slept, you told me once that your condition lasts at least four weeks. You've not slept since the start of June and it's July now."

"He makes a good point Andrew," Jarod added. "You could fall asleep in the past and Voldemort would kill you!"

"And then James and Lily will still be dead and we'll have lost you too," Sirius finished.

"I know, but if we wait, we could be waiting days or weeks and I can't keep sitting on this." Andrew said, his thumb poised on the red button, not only was the device supposed to send him through time, but also through space, directly to the village of Godric's Hollow. "It's just a chance I have to take, because it's the right thing to do."

"Wish me luck!" He pressed the red button and vanished in a bright flash.

Once his eyes adjusted to the sudden change of light, Andrew realised something had gone horribly wrong. There wasn't so much as a brick in sight, in fact he was certain that England didn't _have_ volcanos.

"Okay, I know I've screwed up, the question is just how _badly_ did I screw up?" Andrew asked aloud, then he heard a menacing growl from behind, from something _much_ bigger than him. Turning slowly, he swore loudly and leapt backwards as a Tyrannosaurus Rex, of all things, tried to take a bite of him. Andrew landed on a plant of some sort, crushing it and causing one of its neighbours to spit acid at him.

He was forced to jump out of the way of that too, he somersaulted over the T-Rex and gave it a Force Push, then he remembered the device had the return button and pressed it frantically, disappearing in another flash.

"Well, that was quick," a voice said while Andrew was temporarily blinded.

Once Andrew's vision returned to him, he instantly went defensive and drew his lightsaber. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE-AHHH!" he dropped the items in his hands and clutched his head, falling to his knees at Jax Starr's feet.

Jax was by his side in an instant. "Andrew, buddy, talk to me, you okay!?" he asked worriedly.

Andrew groaned. "Ow, my head..."

Jax's mother, Drexia Lee, slipped her hand into Andrew's pocket and took out the flash drive, plugging it into the laptop she was holding, she compared the information on the drive to what was in the other window on her screen and nodded her head.

"I see what's happened. Something's changed … drastically." she said.

"What darling?" her husband Quint Lee asked.

"Well for one, myself, Jax … hell _everyone_ in the Dark Jedi ranks, was a member of the Sith Order, before Andrew left." she said.

"Hmph," Quint scoffed. "As if I would marry a Sith."

Quint was a Jedi Knight, he and Drexia had been duelling one day when he had injured her and, though not killing her, had damaged her womb, making them unable to have children. That was why they had adopted Jax, but the boy had shown much skill in stealth and infiltration, so they had allowed him to train as an assassin.

"No wonder he went to attack me," Jax said, shaking his head. "Guess he didn't remember that we've been friends since we joined the order."

"Sorry, Jax … dunno what came over me." Andrew said, rubbing the side of his skull.

"I would surmise," said Dumbledore, "that you will have similar periods of pain, whenever your memories are corrected. Due to your mind having to adjust to a contradiction."

Panting, Andrew got to his feet and put his lightsaber back on his belt and picking up the time device. "Okay, sit-rep, I screwed up and ended up back in the Mesozoic Era."

"Ooo, burn!" Jax hissed a little.

"Question is, how do we proceed and _finish_ this mission?" Andrew finished.

"I might have a suggestion," Drexia said as she continued to scroll through the data comparison.

"What is it Mum?" Jax asked.

Dela looked over Drexia's shoulder, grinning at the name she had highlighted. "It's a wonder we didn't ask for his help before." Dela said, Drexia turned the laptop around and showed Andrew.

He grinned too. "Probably because he wasn't here before … along with," he paused as his head ached him again. "International Rescue?"

Jarod, having seen the name everyone was reading, passed Andrew a phone having already dialed the number. "It's about nine AM in New York."

Andrew took the phone and listened as the line connected. "Good morning, Stark Tower, how can I help you?" a lady said.

"Good morning, I'm hoping you can help me, is Mr Stark available?" Andrew asked.

"I'm sorry, but Mr Stark is a _very_ busy man," the lady said.

"I understand, could you perhaps pass on a message for me?"

"Certainly," there was the sound of a clicking keyboard on the line. "Go ahead, Sir."

"The Jedi Temple, in London, could _really_ use his help on something vital, and two lives hang in the balance." Andrew said.

There was the sound of a cheerful tune on the line and Andrew realised he had been put on hold, so he put the handset on speaker.

"Hi, you've reached Tony Stark." a man said on the other end. "How can I help the Jedi Order today?"

 **A/N I had originally planned this to be a massive cliffhanger, but since I'm uploading the whole story in one go and chapters nine and ten were shorter than all the other chapters, I've decided to just splice them together. Read on dear viewer, read on. ^_^**

Chapter 10 – Operation Temporal Rescue.

Andrew almost dropped the phone. "Hello? Anyone there?"

"YEAH! Sorry, um, Mr Stark, this might be a little hard to explain on the phone." Andrew stammered, shocked.

"Hey, no problem, the message said lives are at stake, Pepper, honey? … Cancel all my appointments for today … alright, can you handle it instead? … Great, Happy, call ahead and get the jet prepped! We're on our way, see you in the morning … hang on, who am I talking to?" Stark asked.

"Oh, um, Jedi Padawan, Andrew Payne, Sir." Andrew answered.

"… Do you have the bill payers permission to make this call?" Stark asked, Jarod heard that and laughed.

"Jedi Master, Jarod Cooper here, Mr Stark. Yes, I gave my Padawan permission to call you." he said. "In fact I was the one who dialled."

"Right, well, I'd better hang up or we'll never get there, talk to you soon!" with that the line went dead.

"I … just … talked to a _genius_!" Andrew exclaimed, geeking out a little.

"While he's here, Master McKnight may want to have a word with him, we've been trying to invest in Arc Reactors for our various branches." Quint Lee mused as he pulled out his Holo-com.

"Well, there's not much we can do until he gets here, you've clearly got _some_ time until you pass out," Jax pointed out. "So we might as well get you caught up, get all the headaches out of the way now."

"Good idea, we've got until morning." Andrew agreed.

"I'll go ask Master Axfow for some painkillers for you," Mel said, running off.

"Something I don't get … why can't I remember anything from before I was five any more?" Andrew asked.

"Because that would be when you woke up in hospital, you'd been shot while in Chicago and had to have two pints of blood pumped into you," Jarod explained. "When you woke up, you didn't remember a thing. It took _months_ to help you remember everything, learning you were a Jedi scared you half to death."

By the end of the day, Andrew had one hell of a migraine and was now up to date on what had changed. "All this from stepping on a plant," Andrew thought out loud while shaking his head.

The next morning, Tony Stark and his personal bodyguard Happy Hogan arrived in a flashy Lamborghini Gallardo. Jarod was at the main entrance to greet them.

"Good morning, Mr Stark, I take it you must be the famous Mr Hogan." he said, shaking their hands.

"Wow, you've heard of me?" Happy asked.

"I saw you on the news once, tackling some drunkard, it was before Mr Stark became the Iron Man," Jarod explained.

"Right, cool. I believe we're needed somewhere?" Stark asked, wanting to get down to business. "If Pepper finds out I'm here on some pleasure cruise, I'm a dead man."

Jarod laughed. "You've no need to tell me about women being strict, I'm recently engaged myself. This way gentlemen."

"Engaged, seriously?" Stark asked as they walked up the stairs. "I thought you guys were celibate or something."

"It never ceases to amaze me how often we're mistaken for Catholic priests," Jarod laughed.

He led them towards his Padawan's room, as they got within five feet of it, there was a thunderous explosion and Andrew came sailing through his door, sending splinters of wood everywhere.

"Jeez, Andrew, what the hell are you working on _now_?" Jarod demanded, making sure his pupil wasn't too badly injured.

"I thought I'd kill some time while waiting on our guest," Andrew groaned, coughing as bits of dust settled everywhere. "I guess the TARDIS cube needs a little more work."

"You guess?" Jarod said, giving his Padawan a look.

"What's a TARDIS cube?" Stark asked.

Andrew noticed that Stark and Hogan were there and allowed his Master to help him up. "It's _supposed_ to be a device to make areas larger on the inside than the outside. For example, you could use it to turn a two-man tent into a six-man instead."

"Nice idea, what else are you working on?" Stark asked, taking off his sunshades.

"I've built a car that can transform into a motorcycle, fighter jet and even a submarine, but I can't get the software to work. Right now I've got something more important to get done, which is why I need your help." Andrew explained.

"Right, maybe I can help with your car once we're done with the important stuff." Stark said. "Tell me what you got."

Andrew led the way into what was left of his bedroom/laboratory, he showed Stark the cloning pills and his time device and explained what he was trying to do.

"… But when I tried it myself, I ended up in the Mesozoic Era." he finished.

"So you've basically got a Math problem," Stark simplified. "Gotta say, the idea of cloning people who are about to be murdered is, just, fantastic. Sometime I should introduce you to my Protégé, Peter, you two would get on like … 'a house on fire'? Is that the right phrase?"

"Is he an inventor too?" Jarod asked.

"… Sort of," Stark said vaguely. "Anyway, getting off point, when exactly do you need to get to?"

"The thirty-first of October nineteen eighty one, location, the village of Godric's Hollow. I'll use the Force to guide me from there." Andrew said, taking a seat on his bed.

"Any idea what time of day?" Tony asked, starting to write on Andrew's notepad.

Sirius, who had just poked his head through the smoking door frame, chose to answer that question. "Somewhere around three in the afternoon, better to be early and have to wait around, right?"

"Definitely," Andrew said.

"So what exactly are you hoping to pull off without us Nomags noticing?" Stark asked, causing everyone to stare at him. "What? You don't expect a guy with my level of tech and brains to _not_ know, do you?"

Jarod was the first to break through his surprise. "Do you ever run out of surprises, Mr Stark?" he asked.

"Rarely," Stark answered. "Okay, a little work on your time device and we should be ready to go!"

"Programmed and ready?" Andrew asked as Tony turned the dial to the right date.

"Yep. Now, just to give you a head's up, chances are that time will continue to flow here while you're gone, so don't be amazed if you get back later than you left." Stark said, handing the device to Andrew.

"Let's go somewhere a little more spacious, Andrew, in case you or your companions need medical attention when you return." Jarod said.

Andrew nodded, grabbed his travel robes, and they all left his room, heading to the mess hall.

"The return function is set to bring you back to the point you left, so when you come back, you'll be on this very spot." Stark explained.

"Right, well, wish me luck … again." Andrew said, getting ready to press the button. Dumbledore, Mel, Drexia, Quint, Sirius, Jax, Jarod, Tony and Happy all did so and watched as he vanished.

"Now, we wait." Quint said, taking a seat.

 **October 31** **st** **, 1981 – Godric's Hollow**

Andrew materialised in an alley, thankfully nobody saw him arrive, he pulled up the hood of his robes to conceal his face. He checked the Chronometer on his time device, it said 14:59.57.

"Good, a little early." Andrew said to himself, he stepped out of the alley and watched a younger Peter Pettigrew dart past him, heading out of town. He seemed nervous and in quite a hurry.

Andrew frowned after him, tempted to just kill him there, but instead he turned and headed in the direction that Pettigrew had come from, history had to stay unchanged. Opening his Senses to the Force and seeking out the familiar presences of Remus and Sirius, he set off to the East. After about three quarters of an hour, he found where they were, but it was an empty plot of land. "Probably because I've not been told by the Secret-Keeper." he muttered to himself.

Knowing that Harry and his parents were alone when Voldemort attacked, Andrew guessed he was early, as Padfoot and Moony were still there. With that in mind, Andrew moved away, climbed a tree and allowed the bark to blend with the brown of his robes, camouflaging himself in the branches. From there, he watched, and waited.

In the next hour, nothing much happened, then Sirius and Remus both left, having appeared from nowhere, checked up and down the street and disapparated, leaving Andrew to start to pay closer attention. After another hour and fifteen minutes, bang on six o'clock, a figure, shrouded in a black, hooded robe, appeared across the street. Voldemort raised his wand and blasted the garden gate to pieces, at which point Andrew was able to see the cottage.

He slipped from his branch, landing silently with the tree trunk between himself and the Dark Lord, and made his way to the garden wall, where he heard Harry's father's voice. "Lily, take Harry and go! It's Him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off..." Voldemort blasted the door open as Andrew watched Lily running up the stairs.

Standing straight, Andrew held his hand out, feeling Voldemort's presence, he gripped the man with the Force and pulled him, hard, through a wall, through the garden wall, and dragged him through a few feet of cobblestone road.

Andrew then vaulted the wall and pelted up the garden, he smashed his way through the living room window as he dived. Rolling to his feet, he dropped his hood and started talking quickly.

"Mr Potter, this is going to be very confusing, but I'm here to rescue you, I'm one of Harry's classmates from the future and I need you to swallow this, _now_!" he said rapidly while holding out one of the cloning pills.

"Who … what..." James started to say.

"Look, there's no time, Voldemort's getting up already, _man_ he is one tough bastard!" Andrew didn't have time to argue and shoved the pill down James' throat, then he gripped the man's shoulder as the pill took effect.

James stared, in confusion, at his doppelgänger. "You, hold him off for as long as you can!" Andrew ordered the clone, whipping James' wand from his hand and pressing it onto the clone. "And _you_ get to your room and hide, I'll send your wife there soon!" Andrew turned and shot a Force Push at the door, shattering it and sending the debris all over Voldemort.

He pushed James up the stairs, shouting "GO! MOVE!" and James then got the idea and started to run. Andrew followed him and then went to the nursery, knocking gently. "Mrs Potter, please open the door, I'm a friend and I'm here to save you." he said softly. There wasn't an answer, except in the form of sobbing, so Andrew used the Force to unlock the door, opening it a crack and putting both his hands through.

"See? I'm not here to hurt you," he called, inching his way through. "I know this is going to sound strange, but my name is Andrew, I'm one of Harry's classmates. I've come from almost thirteen years in the future to rescue you."

Lily looked at him like he was insane, then she recoiled when she saw him reaching into his pocket. "I need you to swallow this for me, then join your husband in your bedroom." the boy said calmly. The look on his face was so sincere that she couldn't help but trust him, she took the pill and placed it in her mouth, swallowing it quickly.

Andrew placed a hand on her shoulder, mainly so he could tell them apart, and watched as her clone materialised beside them. He passed baby Harry and Lily's wand to her clone and said, "Guard him with your life!"

Downstairs, Andrew sensed James' clone die. He darted to the door, pulling his lightsaber from his belt. "This is where the fun begins," he muttered to himself, pulling his hood back up. "I'll distract him, you make for your room and do _not_ come out until I say so."

Lily nodded and Andrew threw the door open, he saw a cabinet further up the hallway, he gripped it and pulled hard, causing it to crash its way down the hall and down the stairs. Andrew then stepped out into the hall and ignited his lightsaber, with his right hand he started filling the corridor with Force Lightning. "GO, NOW!" he shouted over his shoulder, Lily nodded and ran for her bedroom, where James held her tightly.

Andrew backed up and shut the nursery door, Lily's clone locking it from inside, as Voldemort cleared the top of the stairs. "I don't know who you are, and I don't care. For tonight, you die alongside the Potters!" The Dark Lord then started shooting green curses at the Jedi, who implemented his skill with Shii-Cho and started to reflect and deflect the spells.

"Go ahead and keep shooting, I can keep this up all night!" Andrew shouted mockingly back at Voldemort. "It's child's play!"

The young Jedi ate his words quickly, as Voldemort unexpectedly used a powerful Force Push, sending Andrew back so fast, that he bounced off the carpet and through a window. He screamed in sheer agony, as the tree outside impaled his right arm, just above the elbow joint, with a thick and sharp branch.

He glared up at Voldemort as he stood at the smashed window, blood running up to his shoulder and down his chest. "We underestimated each other, though it would appear, that you paid the greater price, boy." Voldemort said. "Avada Kadava!" The Dark Lord shouted, sending another green curse at the Jedi.

With great difficulty, Andrew painfully brought his blade up to deflect the curse again. Then he used the momentum from the down swing to throw his lightsaber, his blade narrowly missed Voldemort's head and came back to him. Andrew cried out in pain and, under his hood, Voldemort smirked. "On second thought, I'll just leave you to suffer here, let your death be that much slower."

Andrew almost blacked out from the pain, except his condition wouldn't let him. He watched as the house shook, green light everywhere, some parts even caving in. At this point, Andrew knew part of his mission was a success, he could still sense Harry was alive, so history had remained unchanged. But had Harry's parents survived? Would he?

With great difficulty, Andrew moved his left arm behind himself, and cut the branch he'd been impaled on, he fell to the ground in a heap, tears of pain flowing freely down his cheeks. He heaved himself to his feet, sliced the wood protruding from the front of his arm and started limping around to what was left of the front door.

The first thing he noticed, was James' body, perfectly intact. He couldn't think about that right now, instead he picked up James' wand and moved past the corpse, dragging himself up the stairs, he glanced into the nursery, seeing Lily's body, Harry was in his crib, crying for his mother.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I can't help you," Andrew muttered to himself breathing deeply through his nose to keep from screaming, he lifted his right arm and used the Force to summon Lily's wand to his hand. Moving past the door and heading to the master bedroom, he raised the hilt of his lightsaber and used it to knock on the door. "Ey, Sanka, you dead?" he joked, the door opened instantly and James was there with his wand out.

"Holy crap, you okay?" he asked, taking his blood-soaked wand from the boy and passing the other wand to his wife.

"I'll live, but we've gotta get out of here." Andrew told him, hissing in pain as blood dripped from his fingers and onto the carpet.

"Alright, I'll get Harry," Lily said, making her way into the hallway.

"I'm sorry, I can't let you do that," Andrew said softly, using the Force to halt the woman's progress, his vision was blurring.

"Why the hell not!" James shouted, causing Harry to cry louder.

"Because, it would change history and the two of you died tonight, saving your child. Professor Dumbledore can explain better when we get back." Andrew said, struggling to stand.

"Back where?" Lily asked, Andrew clipped his lightsaber to his belt and pulled the time device from his pocket.

"July the eighth nineteen ninety-four," Andrew groaned. "Now grab a hold of me!"

The two adults did as they were asked and Andrew pressed the green button on the device, making the three of them disappear in a flash. When they arrived, it was late, only Jax and Mel were there, Mel dozing on Jax's shoulder.

"HELP!" Andrew bellowed at the top of his lungs, causing Mel to scream in fright. Jarod and Dela came in at the sound of Andrew's voice, the first thing they noticed was that he wasn't alone, then they saw the blood.

"MEDIC!" Jarod shouted, Dumbledore came in with Stark and Sirius, when he saw Andrew's condition he conjured a stretcher and Sirius and James carried Andrew to the medical bay, led by the Jedi.

"Zan, medical emergency!" Jarod shouted as they ran in, Andrew full on screaming in pain now.

"What the blazes happened _this_ time!" the healer demanded, his Padawan set up a bed and Andrew was sat in it, the girl grabbed some scissors and began cutting Andrew's clothing off his upper body.

"That bitch, Mouldyshorts threw me out of a window," Andrew gritted his teeth and explained, letting out another cry of pain. "I landed in a tree."

"Looks more like the tree landed in _you_!" Sirius quipped.

"Be serious for a moment, please?" Lily scolded.

"I thought I _was_ Sirius," Padfoot said, feigning confusion.

"Listen, I have a patient who is in a lot of pain, if you can't be considerate then get out!" Zan snapped. "Please!" he added.

By now, Aberesa Alchiban, Zan's Padawan, had gotten Andrew's upper body clear of any clothing, showing that his right arm had started to turn a nasty shade of green and black, it still had a chunk of wood lodged inside.

Zan examined the wound and looked apologetically at Andrew. "It's not good, I'm afraid. Between blood loss and the inset of gangrene, I cannot save this arm. We'll have to amputate, before the infection reaches your chest."

Mel gasped and put her hands to her mouth, tears beginning to fill her eyes. Jax moved forward and offered Andrew something to bite hold of, then he took Andrew's left hand and they gripped each other tightly.

Aberesa moved Andrew's right arm, as carefully as she could, until the limb was stretched out to his side. "Are you ready?" Zan asked, taking his lightsaber from his belt. Andrew nodded, screwing his eyes shut and turning away, breathing heavily through his nose and gritted teeth.

Mel buried her face into Jarod's midriff, unable to watch, Jarod did his best to cover her ears. Lily caught on to what was about to happen and pressed her face into her husband's shoulder, sobbing quietly.

"He saved us and now this is his reward?" she moaned.

Zan ignited his amber-bladed lightsaber, lined it up with Andrew's armpit, and swiftly swung upwards. Biting hard on the wood in his mouth, Andrew screamed and cried in agony. "Brace yourself young one, this is going to hurt more!" Zan warned.

Andrew's screams got worse, as the healer had to use the Force to pull at Andrew's nerve endings and fuse them to a metal plate, then the plate was fused to the skin where he shoulder used to be attached to his collar bone. The wood Andrew had been biting snapped as he bit down harder on it.

The whole process took less than a minute, but for Andrew it felt like hours, hours of non-stop agony. "I'll have the tech boys get to work on a new arm for you," Zan told his patient softly.

"Mind if I have a crack at it?" Stark asked, trying to get over the horror he'd just watched. "I've always wanted to play with Etherium."

"Be my guest, Mr Stark," Jarod said calmly, Zan wasn't listening, he was too busy setting up a morphine drip for Andrew, knowing it would still be at least ten days before the boy could sleep, he felt it best to try and ease his pain as much as he could.

Stark left the room and Andrew was eased fully onto the bed. "I suppose you need to know what has transpired over the last thirteen years," Dumbledore said to James and Lily, trying to be casual.

"Yes, tell us everything, Albus." James said while Lily dried her eyes.

They headed to the mess hall, leaving Andrew with Jax and Mel. Dumbledore told James and Lily about the protection Harry was living with, how love had saved him that fateful night, how he'd spent the last twelve years living with Lily's sister, every adventure that Harry and his friends had had while at Hogwarts, and finally, Sirius' story.

"So Andrew's reasons for rescuing you were two-fold." Dumbledore finished. "First, he wanted to give Harry his parents back, I would say that soon he will have succeeded."

"The other is, he wants you two to help him clear my name." Sirius added.

"Then I say our next stop is the Ministry, the four of us go together and explain the whole thing!" James said.

"I quite agree," Dumbledore said with his usual smile. "However I would advise that we get Remus and Severus to join us, they too are witnesses."

"Can we wait for a bit, I want to be sure that that young man will be alright." Lily said.

"I agree, love." James said, holding her tight.

"Well if I know Tony, he'll have a new arm done before morning," Happy said, he'd let Tony go to the tech lab alone, figuring he would be safe surrounded by Jedi.

"Just seems so cruel," Dela said sadly. "He's always been wary of the Trial of Flesh."

"I would say he passed with flying colours," Jarod said, nursing a brandy.

"How's he going to cope with school though?" Sirius asked.

"He's strong, he'll manage," Jarod answered with pride. "Etherium is used in the making of lightsabers and prosthetic arms because it can be used to channel Force powers, the same could be true for magic."

"So when will we head off to the Ministry?" Sirius asked, a little apprehensive.

"I suggest when Andrew goes to sleep," Dumbledore said, feeling sorry for the pain that the young man would be in until then.

"That soon?" Lily asked.

"Sadly, Andrew suffers from Nodormiunus," Dumbledore answered. "He gets random periods where he simply _cannot_ sleep. With any luck he'll get to sleep soon, but I've known him to go up to seven weeks without sleep and right now he's gone five. When he _does_ get to sleep, he will slip into a week-long coma, but until then..."

"He has to suffer," James finished. "Man, that's gotta suck, he can't even sleep off the pain!"

"So we've got until he gets some rest, to get a hold of Snape and Moony," Sirius said plainly.

"Yes, it should be a pleasant surprise, for Andrew to wake up and read the headline 'Sirius Black, Cleared of all Charges – Ministry grants full pardon and offers public apology.'" Jarod laughed.

Just then, Zan walked in, sitting down heavily. "How's our patient old friend?"

"Resting, as much as he can be. I've put him on a blood drip, given how much he lost, but … he's slightly out of it, thanks to the morphine I've administered." Zan said.

"'Off his face', I believe were the words my son used." Drexia said as she too sat down.

"He'll be hurting for a while, I'm just sorry I can't give him anything to help him sleep!"

"You're doing what you can, that's what counts," Lily said, patting the Master's hand gently.

"Thank you. At least his mission was a success, Professor Dumbledore?" Zan asked quickly as he remembered something.

"Yes?" Dumbledore answered.

"Andrew's asked if, after he's destroyed the time device, you can erase all knowledge of its construction from his memory. He seemed to think that by not remembering how it was built, he might get into less trouble from the Ministry." Zan said.

"Gladly," Dumbledore said. "He's done a good thing tonight, it would be a pity to see him punished further."

Stark came in and sat down heavily too. "Well, I've designed the arm, and I've got J.A.R.V.I.S. printing a render, who knew that the stuff takes as long to manipulate as Adamantium?"

"Well they are just as tough as each other, Etherium is simply lighter," Quint answered, sitting next to his wife.

"True, well I uploaded J.A.R.V.I.S. to your system and he said it would be done in a few hours, in the meantime, I'm gonna get some sleep. Soon as the kid's up for it, I'll help him make an AI for his car." Tony said, getting up and heading for bed.

As he walked out, Aurora came in and convinced Jarod to head to bed too and the rest of the adults decided that sleep seemed like a good idea.

"I'll stay up tonight, make sure my patient doesn't take any morphine without supervision," Zan said as he got up and returned to the medical bay.

 **To be continued, in Part 4 – The Goblet of Fire.**


End file.
